US and UK deny Echelon spying allegations

The US and the UK yesterday offered reassurances to the EU that they are not using the Echelon satellite information system to snoop on business communications in Europe.

European Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen testified during a European Parliament debate that he had received letters from the US State Department and the UK government denying accusations that the Echelon spy network is being exploited for industrial espionage.

"The US government and the intelligence community do not accept tasking from private firms and do not collect propriety commercial, technical or financial information for the benefit of private firms," said the letter from the US Government.

The UK correspondence said that its intelligence services "work within a legal framework". The questions over Echelon and its practices were initially raised in a European Parliament report last month. p>At the same time, Microsoft denied allegations from the French Government that it collaborated with US and UK intelligence agencies to build a 'backdoor' in Windows to spy on Europe alongside the Echelon network.

The software giant said it does not leave backdoors in its products. "It is in keeping with our historical stance on this issue," the company said in a statement. "For instance, we have opposed the various key escrow proposals that have been suggested by the UK government, because we don't believe they are in the best interests of consumers or the industry."

Yaman Akdeniz, of the British Cyber-Rights and Cyber-Liberties group, has likened the Echelon spy network to "something out of George Orwell's 1984".

A majority of European Parliament members have firmly rejected the US and UK reassurances, and said they will vote for a wider probe into Echelon this month.