SÄPO puts pressure on internet providers for data access
Sweden Radio News, 17 November 2013
The Swedish Intelligence Service, SÄPO, is continuing to put pressure on telecom and internet operators to join a system which would automatically send customer's phone-call and internet-surfing details to the secret service, Swedish Radio News reports.
The operators are currently obliged to hand over the information by law if there is a request by a prosecutor, but do it manually to make sure there is an official request by a prosecutor first. Many of them are wary about SÄPO's new system, which would allow SÄPO access to the data without the operator having to go in and verify the request first.
Swedish Radio News first revealed the system several weeks ago, but in taped conversations carried out by the operators themselves in their talks with SÄPO, Swedish Radio can report that the attempts to convince the operators to join the system are continuing, sometimes with a threatening tone and promising: "No-one needs to know".
One SÄPO representative told internet provider Bahnhof: "Say we suspect a terrorist attack in Stockholm, and we get information it is important for us to investigate. And we get that information at 8pm a Friday night. The answer, with the manual handling, will get to us on Monday morning.
Then there is an explosion in Stockholm with 800 people dead. I don't think that you would want to be the CEO of Bahnhof then, when you say you want to make judgements in operative areas."
Source:
Sweden Radio - News In English
For some background information, please read the press release from Bahnhof Internet Provider:
http://mnhopkins.blogspot.se/2013/11/varnade-for-overvakning-hotas-av.html
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