
Court Issues Dangerous Decision: Ethiopia Is Free to Spy on Americans - DiabloD3
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/03/dc-circuit-court-issues-dangerous-decision-cybersecurity-ethiopia-free-spy
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throwlehal
I don't get the outrage. Sovereign governments have been spying on citizens of
other countries forever, and we already have ways to respond - diplomacy (toss
out their spies, or just a couple of random diplomats), counter-espionage
(which covers all manner of things), and finally, war.

If you catch their spies in the country, they are prosecuted under US law. If
you catch your citizens anywhere in the world, they are also prosecuted under
US law. But you can't sue the other country in a US court. It would be like
suing the USSR during the cold war.

You'd expect the US government to react in this case by whatever means
necessary. Not the court system - what do they expect, the Ethiopian
government to come and defend themselves in a US court?

And what if you flip the scenario - the US does the same thing (espionage).
Now, can a Ethiopian citizen sue the US government in an Ethiopian court and
get a remedy even if they win? Fat chance.

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kw71
This is interesting because the US government has charged, extradited and
imprisoned criminals who have never touched US soil.

