Spy Network Raises French Suspicions
A French prosecutor has opened a preliminary investigation into a U.S.-led spy network that has left many Europeans suspicious that their businesses are being monitored, judicial sources said Tuesday.
Paris prosecutor Jean-Pierre Dintilhac in May asked the DST, France's internal security service, to carry out the preliminary inquiry, according to a report in Tuesday's Le Figaro newspaper.
CBS News Reporter Elaine Cobbe says the newspaper quotes judicial sources who spoke on condition that they not be named.
The Echelon issue surfaced in February when a European Parliament report discussed the existence and activities of the network, whose members also include Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
It said Echelon has surveillance-interception stations across the globe that intercept "billions of messages per hour," including telephone calls, fax transmissions and private e-mails.
The report by British investigative journalist Duncan Campbell was presented to the EU assembly. It urged the EU to take action against unwanted interception of communications, insisting that this violated human rights and could be used for industrial espionage.
The United States and Britain have offered reassurances that Echelon is not involved in economic espionage.
But some Europeans remain concerned that the network may be compromising businesses, and many European parliament members have asked for a deeper probe. On Wednesday, EU lawmakers are expected to decide whether to create a temporary inquiry commission on Echelon, Le Figaro said.
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