Spain Brings In New Snooping Law; Allows Wide-Ranging Surveillance -- And Government Malware

from the making-the-digital-world-as-bad-as-the-analog-one dept

Fri, Dec 11th 2015 3:17am — Glyn Moody

Earlier this week Spain's new Criminal Procedure Act came into force. Although this is an update to an old law from 1882, it legalizes the use of some of the most modern digital snooping techniques around, as an article in El País explains (original in Spanish). For example, one option under the new law is to install malware on a suspect's devices, a really bad idea we warned two years ago might happen. The new law specifies that surveillance can be carried on equipment used habitually or occasionally by a suspect, but does not clarify what happens with networks or a shared family computer. The Spanish police will also now be able to deploy undercover agents online who can interact with other users, and record their conversations, even if those take place with members of the public in their own homes.

The new powers generally require judicial authorization, and the exact nature of the permitted surveillance will depend on the seriousness of the alleged crime. But the law also allows the Spanish Interior Minister and, in her or his absence, the Secretary of State for Security, to grant permission to the police to snoop on private communications in an "emergency", or when the alleged crimes relate to terrorism or armed groups.

Such permission must then be quickly confirmed or revoked by a judge, but in the latter case, there's a nasty twist in the new law. Even though the police would be unable to use in court any evidence they found during surveillance whose authorization was later cancelled, they could use it to help them ask for permission to carry out more surveillance, taking advantage of the knowledge they gained. As El País notes, the new law will allow:

police and judicial use of "incidental findings": those crimes which are not suspected, and discovered investigating other [crimes]. Now, the parties may bring these findings as evidence in a different judicial process from the one that led to the initial investigation, and may also be used in other investigations, although for that, specific authorization from a judge will be required.

A few months ago, Techdirt wrote about Spain's terrible new "gag" law that imposed all kinds of ridiculous constraints on everyday activities in the physical world. It seems that bad things are starting to happen in the country's digital realm too.

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Filed Under: malware, spain, surveillance

25 Comments

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Nate (profile), 11 Dec 2015 @ 4:04am

This is the same govt that made it illegal to disparage the police or gather in unauthorized protests, and it also sabotaged Spain's free press.

So this law really doesn't come as a surprise, does it?
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Paul Renault (profile), 11 Dec 2015 @ 4:06am

Sigh....
Another country to add to the long list of places I won't go to, unless I really, really, really have.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 4:41am

What makes this sad is that these fear laws never really go away after they are proved inefficient and unworkable, new laws are just created to patch holes creating more holes and so on and so on .
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William H. Taft, 11 Dec 2015 @ 4:56am

See, this is the real fallout
of the Snowden revelations. Once the U.S. has shown mass surveillance can be done and legitimized through legislation, then all other countries will want to do the same.

The U.S., hell the world, needs a revolution. Now! Once the people pull their heads out of thier digital rectums of facebook and instagram, etc., and realize the shit we're in, the governments will back down. Fuck you Uncle Sam and Comey, 1776 will come again...
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 4:59am

So to equate this to the US law...
So in the US, this would be like conducting an illegal, warrantless search and finding some info. Then going and getting a warrant and re-finding this info with that warrant. But somehow this would be legal and admissible in court?
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 5:04am

I'm more and more convinced that Spain's laws are a knee-jerk attempt to suppress the underdog political parties pre election
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 5:28am

Re:
That is ultimately what all mass surveillance will be used for, the suppression of the opposition party. Once it has been in use long enough, whatever party is in control will have enough dirt on the party that doesn't have power and it will be all over.
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That One Guy (profile), 11 Dec 2015 @ 5:56am

Re: So to equate this to the US law...
Two words: Evidence laundering.

Get the evidence via a method that won't stand up in court(like say, Stingray), then throw together a case that makes it look like the evidence was acquired through legal means(wiretap with a proper warrant).
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 7:14am

Re:
the surprise would be how many "free world" countries follow suit
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 7:15am

Re: Re: So to equate this to the US law...
Then throw out the case when the defence rightly demands to see how the process they went through and they cannot show a legal way of acquiring said evidence
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Richard M. Nixon, 11 Dec 2015 @ 7:39am

Re: See, this is the real fallout
It sure sounds like it is heading that way after all of these countries and their coordinated effort of intrusive surveillance.

You forgot to add Feinstein, McCaul and Burr to your fuck off list
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 7:51am

it is not only for the opposition party;
the idea of (Big Brother) Mass Surveillance is that you can jail anyone that raises his voice/head against government
cause you just need to scan his lifelong file for something useful
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 7:53am

Spain wants to go installing government malware LIKE Germany?
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 7:56am

please note the German government malware can PLANT EVIDENCE

Staatstrojaner Germany
https://www.ccc.de/en/tags/staatstrojaner

https://netzpolitik.org/2015/advanced-german-technol ogy-how-a-german-arab-shell-corporation-tries-to-sell-a-new-state-trojan-made-in-germany/
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 8:02am

it is not like NSA has been doing this forever?
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/28/nsa-spying-spain_n_4170209.html
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 8:23am

you can scan your pc against government malware via tools like this one:
https://resistsurveillance.org/
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 8:25am

This xmas every spanish child will wake to a skynet barbie under their tree!
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 9:06am

Re: Re:
as always, this is a test
they will learn from the experiment
and then implement it worldwide
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 9:08am

Re: Sigh....
please SHARE your "good plantation" list
mine is empty
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 9:10am

Re: Re: Re:
it might take time
and there is nothing you can do abut it
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 12:07pm

Franco, inquisitions, conquistadors, etc.
This is just to be expected from Spain, considering it's history. Remember, until relatively recently Spain was an out-and-out dictatorship.

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 12:44pm

A government giving the impression that our property should be less secure is fucking disgusting
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Dec 2015 @ 12:47pm

Australia, one of the group 'Five Eyes' has already brought laws in just like this, allowing malware to be placed on 3rd party computers so as to spy on others, all without the owners knowledge.
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Steve (profile), 11 Dec 2015 @ 12:58pm

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.
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chilling farts, 11 Dec 2015 @ 3:55pm

old imperialism
But they are bringing democracy in Venezuela!
(typical peruvian excuse)
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