Revelations about the activities of the US National Security Agency, and the extent to which it spies on foreign citizens, are triggering intense debate across the world. For some, the leaks by the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden are the cause for much alarm, amid signs the agency hoovers up vast amounts of internet data on foreign citizens. For others, there are fears that the leaks have weakened the US intelligence services, undermining their counter-terrorism efforts.
Wherever one stands in this debate, one fear should unite all. This is the risk that the controversy over the NSA will lead to a “Balkanisation” of the internet. This is the risk that governments around the world will respond by ringfencing their networks in order to protect their citizens’ data and limit the ability of the NSA to conduct its spying.
There are several signs that nations are moving in this direction. After reports that the US spied on the email of Dilma Rousseff, the Brazilian president, her government has announced plans to promote its own networking technology, even setting up a secure national email service. Michel Barnier, the European commissioner for the internal market, has suggested Europe should develop its own “European data cloud”, independent of US oversight. The EU, meanwhile, is considering revoking data sharing agreements with the US, requiring American website providers to warn Europeans that their data are subject to US surveillance.