Dutch Socialist Party takes part in DPI debate

MP of the Dutch Socialist Party Sharon Gesthuizen wants an open debate on applying Deep Packet Inspection, a continuous monitoring of internet traffic, in the fight against child porn on the internet. On her site, she writes that applying technical means should be openly discussed and not be disqualified ex ante for possible breach of civil rights.

“DPI is seen as a permanent internet tap for all internet users. Without a concrete suspicion, all traffic of all users would be monitored. That is a violation of the privacy of all users. (…) If one wants to use such a technology, it can only be done in a targeted way. But even then: only when we are aware what it means, what the risks are compared to the benefits and what are the criteria. And we’re nowhere near that far.”

The question what value DPI would add, if it would only be used in a case of concrete allegations, remains unasked and therefore unanswered by Gesthuizen.

Gesthuizen accuses other parties of an opportunistic attitude. In an e-mail to Webwereld (link in Dutch), she writes: “Other political parties, like the Greens and the Liberals, that now shout out in dismay, have apparently been asleep at the wheel; otherwise, they would have known.”

De Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice recently issued a statement that it is looking into the posibilities and risks in the use of DPI and that it plans to report to Parliament in February.

Security firm Fox IT meanwhile questions whether technical means will have the desired effect. According to CEO Ronald Prins, politicians are overly confident in the use of filtering and screening technology. These are no miracle cures, requiring a continuous investment of time and money. And it remains to be seen if these resources are not better spent elsewhere, the secrituy specialist says: “The argument that one might save a child is true, but with the same amount of energy, we could save 50 and that’s what I prefer.”

Furthermore, he questions whether criminals will be prevented from working by a filter and if a filter will not block too many legal sites. This appeared to be an issue in a recent pilot in Finland.

Source: Webwereld