U.S. Said to Cite Islamic State Fight to Block UN Spying Text
The U.S. is citing the threat posed by Islamic State in a bid to block an anti-surveillance resolution backed by Germany and Brazil at the United Nations, diplomats said.
The two countries are seeking a vote today in the General Assemblys human rights committee on a nonbinding resolution to condemn the mass collection of metadata, such as the bulk records of phone calls that are gathered by the U.S. National Security Agency.
In response, the Obama administration is arguing that such intelligence is needed by the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting the Sunni extremists in Iraq and Syria and faces the threat of foreign fighters come home to stage terrorist attacks in Europe or the U.S., according to two UN diplomats involved in the negotiations who asked not to be identified commenting on private consultations.
The lobbying by American diplomats is a shift from the low-key approach they took last year to minimize a political backlash after disclosures by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden of U.S. surveillance at home and abroad. Last year, the General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution that condemned the mass collection of personal data generally.
Brazil and Germany led the effort then, too, after the disclosure that the NSA may have tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkels mobile phone and eavesdropped on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseffs private communications.
Metadata include the dates and time stamps of communications, such as how long calls lasted, when and where an e-mail account was accessed, or which websites were visited and when, without disclosing the contents of the communications.
A third UN diplomat said the U.S. may have shifted its negotiating tactics because of a separate provision in the draft resolution, which says governments should exercise regulatory jurisdiction over companies that control data to ensure compliance with human-rights obligations.
Last week, the U.S. Senate voted against taking up a measure that would limit the NSAs bulk collection of phone records, saying it would restrict the intelligence communitys ability to prevent terrorist attacks. The legislation was backed by a coalition of Internet and technology companies, which include Google Inc. (GOOG) and Twitter Inc. (TWTR)
To contact the reporter on this story: Sangwon Yoon in United Nations at syoon32@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net Larry Liebert, Michael Shepard
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U.S. Said to Cite Islamic State Fight to Block UN Spying Text