UK Secret Report Urges US Data Sharing

Nigel Sheinwald

A top secret report to the British prime minister has recommended that a new international treaty be negotiated to force the cooperation of the big US Internet companies in sharing customers’ personal data.

Privacy campaigners said the decision to classify the report, written by the former diplomat Sir Nigel Sheinwald, as top secret was designed to bury it and its key recommendation for an international treaty could provide a legal, front-door alternative to the government’s renewed “snooper’s charter” surveillance proposals.

It is believed the former British ambassador to Washington concluded that such a treaty could overcome US laws that prevent web giants based there, including Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and Yahoo, from sharing their customers’ private data with British police and security services. It would also mean not having to revive the powers, which require British phone companies to share data from the US giants passing over their networks, from the 2012 communications data bill that would enforce their compliance.

Jim Killock of the Open Rights Group said: “The Sheinwald report should be published. Any attempt to hide it can only be interpreted as an attempt to close down debate about whether the snooper’s charter is really needed. But the Cabinet Office defended its decision to keep the report secret. It said Shinewald “reports on progress to the prime minister but … is not undertaking a public review”.

Campaigners said the Sheinwald report could be published by redacting or stripping out the confidential detail of each company’s operations and having the report declassified.
Guardian:  http://bit.ly/1QmShU8