In an interview with Fox, Rand Paul disagrees with the host who suggests that government should employ more cameras to prevent crime. The senator believes that only with a constitutional basis, such as probable cause, should the government be able to surreptitiously video record its citizens.
Senator Paul adds that even though over 70% of Americans in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 said they would trade freedom for more security, those numbers are now closer to an even split.
He notes that emotions run high after catastrophes, but after things subside, Americans are not as supportive of increasing government in exchange for liberty.
Senator Paul warns that placing security ahead of liberty could create a 1984, Orwellian world where there are cameras in your dining room, bedroom, essentially everywhere.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-04-30 03:51:392016-04-11 11:22:24Rand Paul and the Surveillance State (+video)
Photo Credit: Poster Boy NYCRep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) warned that the government’s search for information online is approaching a “dangerous line” of infringing on people’s liberties.
Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Chaffetz said that there has to be a balance between liberty and security, even as the government works to hunt down potential terrorists.
“We have a very dangerous line — I don’t want my federal government going in and searching my Facebook page,” Chaffetz said.
The way the federal government tracks potential terrorism suspects has come under scrutiny in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, after it was revealed that the older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was placed on a watch list.
Chaffetz raised the concerns about the government searching for information online after Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), another panelist, had discussed investigators’ data mining in the Boston case.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-04-29 03:36:322016-04-11 11:22:31Rep. Chaffetz: I Don’t Want Government ‘Searching my Facebook Page’
Photo Credit: Truthout.orgA government task force is preparing legislation that would pressure companies such as Facebook and Google to enable law enforcement officials to intercept online communications as they occur, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the effort.
Driven by FBI concerns that it is unable to tap the Internet communications of terrorists and other criminals, the task force’s proposal would penalize companies that failed to heed wiretap orders — court authorizations for the government to intercept suspects’ communications.
Rather than antagonizing companies whose cooperation they need, federal officials typically back off when a company is resistant, industry and former officials said. But law enforcement officials say the cloak drawn on suspects’ online activities — what the FBI calls the “going dark” problem — means that critical evidence can be missed.
“The importance to us is pretty clear,” Andrew Weissmann, the FBI’s general counsel, said last month at an American Bar Association discussion on legal challenges posed by new technologies. “We don’t have the ability to go to court and say, ‘We need a court order to effectuate the intercept.’ Other countries have that. Most people assume that’s what you’re getting when you go to a court.”
There is currently no way to wiretap some of these communications methods easily, and companies effectively have been able to avoid complying with court orders.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-04-29 03:06:352016-04-11 11:22:33Feds Now Seek Punitive Fines Against Tech Companies Who Won't Eavesdrop on Internet Users
Since the horrific Boston Marathon bombings last week, the United States Constitution seems to have taken more criticism than Islamic jihadists. Instead of questioning why two Islamic terrorists would choose to wreak their armed havoc in a state with near-record low gun ownership and some of the nation’s strictest gun control laws, many of our so-called leaders are calling for us to abandon the Constitution.
Take New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, for example. Yesterday, he called on the nation to change its laws and “interpretation” of the Constitution so that we can prevent the type of attacks experienced in Boston:
[W]e live in a complex world where you’re going to have to have a level of security greater than you did back in the olden days, if you will. And our laws and our interpretation of the Constitution, I think, have to change.
This frightening reaction isn’t only restricted to Bloomberg. Increasingly, members of the GOP have asserted that the Constitution shouldn’t apply to the bombing suspect who was captured alive. Both John McCain and Lindsey Graham have argued that the bomber – a US citizen – should be treated as an enemy combatant. In other words, the Bill of Rights should not apply.
Most Americans have also heard that, even though the Obama Administration has decided to try the alleged bomber in a civilian court, that he has not been Mirandized or afforded access to an attorney given the special circumstances of the case.
Now, no one in his or her right mind would dare have any sympathy for the alleged bomber given what happened in Boston. He should be subjected to a vigorous prosecution and, if found guilty, be executed for his horrendous crimes.
But the fact that the federal government seems to now think it can, based upon its own unilateral classification, strip away all constitutional protections afforded to US citizens for the last 220-plus years should disturb any person concerned with liberty.
This isn’t the first time that critics of increasing federal power have raised the alarm. Just last month, Senator Rand Paul filibustered President Obama’s proposed CIA nominee over the Administration’s suggestion that the president has the authority to kill US citizens in America with armed drones. Given this thermal image of the bombing suspect from a police drone, it doesn’t seem that that day may be too far off:
Also alarming is how multiple federal and state agencies handled the search for the 19 year-old bombing suspect. The following videos show police demanding entry to residences in Massachusetts, presumably without warrants, forcing residents to exit their homes, and taking other actions that one would typically only see in a police state:
Here’s additional footage taken by another Watertown resident:
Terrorism is undeniably a major threat to the United States. But the rush of many within our ruling class to jettison our fundamental rights in exchange for a little perceived security poses a far greater threat to our future.
___________________________________________
“Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.” General John Stark, 1809 (Revolutionary War hero, origin of New Hampshire’s state motto).
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin, 1775
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-04-23 04:09:032016-04-11 11:23:02US Constitution Under Sustained Assault in Wake of Boston Marathon Bombings (+video)
The Internal Revenue Service is collecting a lot more than taxes this year — it’s also acquiring a huge volume of personal information on taxpayers’ digital activities, from eBay auctions to Facebook posts and, for the first time ever, credit card and e-payment transaction records, as it expands its search for tax cheats to places it’s never gone before.
The IRS, under heavy pressure to help Washington out of its budget quagmire by chasing down an estimated $300 billion in revenue lost to evasions and errors each year, will start using “robo-audits” of tax forms and third-party data the IRS hopes will help close this so-called “tax gap.” But the agency reveals little about how it will employ its vast, new network scanning powers.
Tax lawyers and watchdogs are concerned about the sweeping changes being implemented with little public discussion or clear guidelines, and Congressional staff sources say the IRS use of “big data” will be a key issue when the next IRS chief comes to the Senate for approval. Acting commissioner Steven T. Miller replaced Douglas Shulman last November.
“It’s well-known in the tax community, but not many people outside of it are aware of this big expansion of data and computer use,” says Edward Zelinsky, a tax law expert and professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and Yale Law School. “I am sure people will be concerned about the use of personal information on databases in government, and those concerns are well-taken. It’s appropriate to watch it carefully. There should be safeguards.” He adds that taxpayers should know that whatever people do and say electronically can and will be used against them in IRS enforcement.
IRS’s big data tracking
Consumers are already familiar with Internet “cookies” that track their movements and send them targeted ads that follow them to different websites. The IRS has brought in private industry experts to employ similar digital tracking — but with the added advantage of access to Social Security numbers, health records, credit card transactions and many other privileged forms of information that marketers don’t see.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-04-12 01:58:032013-04-12 01:58:03IRS Tracks Your Digital Footprint
FBI investigators for at least five years have routinely used a sophisticated cellphone tracking tool that can pinpoint callers’ locations and listen to their conversations — all without getting a warrant for it, a federal court was told this week.
The use of the “Stingray,” as the tool is called, “is a very common practice” by federal investigators, Justice Department attorneys told the U.S. District Court for Arizona Thursday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Installed in an unmarked van, Stingray mimics a cellphone tower, so it can pinpoint the precise location of any mobile device in range and intercept conversations and data, said Linda Lye, staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California in a blog post about the case.
In a rare public discussion of federal electronic surveillance capabilities and authorities, Justice Department lawyers told the court hearing that, instead of a warrant, the FBI operates Stingray and other cellphone-mimicking technology under the authority of “pen register” orders. These court orders, also known as “tap and trace” orders, are generally issued to allow investigators to collect only so-called “metadata” — like all phone numbers calling to or called from a particular number.
But Stingray collects much more than just phone numbers and also “sweep[s] up the data of innocent people who happen to be nearby,” according to the ACLU filing.
In a hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee Tuesday, a panel of technology law experts called on Congress to pass legislation mandating the long-term retention of every American’s text messages and emails in case of a future criminal investigation.
“Billions of texts are sent every day, and some surely contain key evidence about criminal activity,” said Richard Littlehale of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and a member of the panel in his written statement. “Text messaging often plays a big role in investigations related to domestic violence, stalking, menacing, drug trafficking, and weapons trafficking.”
The hearing was held to discuss potential new provisions of the outdated Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986. The panel’s suggestions included longer retention times of interpersonal electronic messages as well as the creation of and expedited federal access to these databases. Not everyone was pleased with the panel’s recommendations.
“From a consumer privacy perspective, from a network security perspective, let alone the cost perspective of storing the tens of billions of messages that are sent around the various networks … it’s really an unwieldy and unworkable idea,” said a telecommunication executive, providing background information on the proposal.
The executive cited recent worldwide hackings as an example of potential risk to public safety and security when it comes to maintaining such a database.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-03-23 04:10:192013-03-23 04:10:19Experts To Congress: US Law Should Be Changed to Require Permanent Storage of Billions Of Private Text Messages, Emails
The U.S. government is expanding a cyber security program that scans Internet traffic headed into and out of defense contractors to include far more of the country’s private, civilian-run infrastructure.
As a result, more private sector employees than ever before, including those at big banks, utilities and key transportation companies, will have their emails and Web surfing scanned as a precaution against cyber attacks.
Under last month’s White House executive order on cyber security, the scans will be driven by classified information provided by U.S. intelligence agencies — including data from the National Security Agency (NSA) — on new or especially serious espionage threats and other hacking attempts. U.S. spy chiefs said on March 12 that cyber attacks have supplanted terrorism as the top threat to the country.
The Department of Homeland Security will gather the secret data and pass it to a small group of telecommunication companies and cyber security providers that have employees holding security clearances, government and industry officials said. Those companies will then offer to process email and other Internet transmissions for critical infrastructure customers that choose to participate in the program.
DHS as the middleman
By using DHS as the middleman, the Obama administration hopes to bring the formidable overseas intelligence-gathering of the NSA closer to ordinary U.S. residents without triggering an outcry from privacy advocates who have long been leery of the spy agency’s eavesdropping.
https://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.png00Joe Millerhttps://joemiller.us/wp-content/uploads/logotext.pngJoe Miller2013-03-22 03:08:042013-03-22 03:08:04US Plan Calls For More Scanning Of Private Web Traffic, Email (+video)
Surveillance cameras are ubiquitous, especially in the U.K.. and in the United States, Congress has already approved the use of drones for domestic surveillance. Then there’s the “Stingray” tool used by the FBI to track cell phones. It’s enough to make even those who’ve gotten nothing hide feel nervous.
New York-based artist Adam Harvey doesn’t like it one bit. So he’s taken it upon himself to design anti-surveillance clothing to foil government snoopers.
Harvey has been looking at the effects of such surveillance on culture for some time. Last year he designed a kind of face makeup called CVDazzle to avert face-recognition software.
In the spirit of fooling cameras – and messing with surveillance – Harvey has now come out in a set of hoodies and scarves that block thermal radiation from the infrared scanners drones use. Wearing the fabric would make that part of the body look black to a drone, so the image would appear like disembodied legs. He also designed a pouch for cell phones that shields them from trackers by blocking the radio signals the phone emits. For those airport X-ray machines, he has a shirt with a printed design that blocks the radiation from one’s heart.
The materials the clothes are made are specialized and expensive, so these aren’t the kinds of fashions that the local discount store will have – at least not yet. Harvey does plan to offer the clothes for sale, though.
Far from the battlefields of Afghanistan, a Predator drone was summoned into action last year to spy on a North Dakota farmer who allegedly refused to return a half-dozen of his neighbor’s cows that had strayed onto his pastures.
The farmer had become engaged in a standoff with the Grand Forks police SWAT team and the sheriff’s department. So the local authorities decided to call on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to deploy a multimillion-dollar, unarmed drone to surveil the farmer and his family.
The little-noticed August 2011 incident at the Lakota, N.D., ranch, which ended peacefully, was a watershed moment for Americans. It was one of the first known times an unmanned aerial vehicle owned by the U.S. government was used in local police work.
Since then, The Washington Guardian has confirmed, DHS and its Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency have deployed drones — originally bought to guard America’s borders — to assist local law enforcement and other federal agencies on several occasions.
The practice is raising questions inside and outside government about whether federal officials may be creating an ad-hoc, loan-a-drone program without formal rules for engagement, privacy protection or taxpayer reimbursements. The drones used by CBP can cost $15 million to $34 million each, and have hourly operational costs as well.
Surveillance cameras are ubiquitous, especially in the U.K.. and in the United States, Congress has already approved the use of drones for domestic surveillance. Then there’s the “Stingray” tool used by the FBI to track cell phones. It’s enough to make even those who’ve gotten nothing hide feel nervous.