British PM Pushes Obama to Back Surveillance of Google, Facebook Users

Cameron Wants 'Backdoor' for All Communications

British Premier David Cameron has made much in recent days of his desire to have absolute, unchecked surveillance power over all forms of communication, and is pushing President Obama to endorse that.

Cameron, who insists no form of communication should be encrypted from his prying eyes, has to deal with the fact that Britons are using American software and services for a lot of this communication.

That’s where Obama comes in, as Cameron is pushing for Obama to endorse a scheme to create a special government backdoor in Google and Facebook to allow the British government to surveil them at will.

In the wake of the Paris terror attack, Cameron is looking to dramatically increase his government surveillance powers, and President Obama is expressing support for increased cooperation, which suggests that while he probably won’t want to publicly admit it, he may well accept the move.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.