Privacy

USA Freedom And The Surveillance State

June 2, 2015 BORDC Staff, www.bordc.org Resist! FBI, NSA, Privacy, Surveillance, Wars and Militarism

By BORDC Staff - Last night the Senate allowed Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act to expire, despite dire predictions of calamity, and will begin debate on a replacement, the USA Freedom Act, later today. The Bill of Rights Committee/Defending Dissent Foundation opposes the USA Freedom Act, and calls for a thorough congressional investigation into the surveillance authorities US intelligence agencies have claimed to gather the private information without a warrant of US persons who are not under suspicion of any crime. “Hundreds of thousands of Americans have joined the debate over unwarranted mass surveillance in the last two weeks, and over the last two years since the first Snowden revelation,” said Sue Udry, Executive Director of BORDC/DDF.

Gov’t Still Have Plenty Of Surveillance Power Without Sec. 215

June 2, 2015 Cindy Cohn and Andrew Crocker, www.eff.org Educate! Privacy, Surveillance, Wars and Militarism

By Cindy Cohn and Andrew Crocker for EFF - The story being spun by the defenders of Section 215 of the Patriot Act and the Obama Administration is that if the law sunsets entirely, the government will lose critical surveillance capabilities. The fearmongering includes President Obama, who said: “heaven forbid we’ve got a problem where we could’ve prevented a terrorist attack or could’ve apprehended someone who was engaged in dangerous activity but we didn’t do so.” So how real is this concern? Not very. Section 215 is only one of a number of largely overlapping surveillance authorities, and the loss of the current version of the law will leave the government with a range of tools that is still incredibly powerful. First, there’s the most famous use of Section 215—the bulk collection of telephone records by the NSA. . .

Even If Patriot Act Expires, Government Will Keep Spying

May 31, 2015 Staff, www.washingtonsblog.com Educate! NSA, Patriot Act, Privacy, spying, Surveillance

By Washingtons Blog. Mass surveillance under the Patriot Act is so awful that even its author says that the NSA has gone far beyond what the Act intended (and that the intelligence chiefs who said Americans aren’t being spied on should be prosecuted for perjury). Specifically, the government is using a “secret interpretation” of the Patriot Act which allows the government to commit mass surveillance on every American. So it’s a good thing that the Patriot Act may expire, but don’t get too excited … Wikileaks’ Julian Assange said today:

On Patriot Act Renewal And USA Freedom Act

May 29, 2015 Glenn Greenwald, www.firstlook.org Resist! National Security, Privacy, Surveillance

Even in the security-über alles climate that followed 9/11, the Patriot Act was recognized as an extreme and radical expansion of government surveillance powers. That’s why “sunset provisions” were attached to several of its key provisions: meaning they would expire automatically unless Congress renewed them every five years. But in 2005 and then again in 2010, the Bush and Obama administrations demanded their renewal, and Congress overwhelmingly complied with only token opposition from civil libertarians. That has all changed in the post-Snowden era. The most controversial provisions of the Patriot Act are scheduled to “sunset” on June 1, and there is almost no chance for a straight-up, reform-free authorization.

Julian Assange Speaks Of TPP, NSA & His Own Future

May 28, 2015 Interview with Julian Assange Amy Goodman, www.democracynow.org Educate! Freedom of Expression, Privacy, Surveillance, Wars and Militarism

So the alternative proposal, which is something that was in the USA FREEDOM Act, which is pretty misnamed—it is a sort of milder version of the USA PATRIOT Act, in some ways. Instead, Verizon and the other—AT&T and other big telcos will hold the information, ready for the National Security Agency. But, you know, it doesn’t make much of a difference if that’s an automated system. It’s just—you know, 80 percent of the National Security Agency is outsourced anyway, in terms of the management of its data. In this case, if it has automatic connections to AT&T and Verizon, there’s no difference in terms of its searching ability. Now, in terms of whether there’s warrants that are used for searches, it is perhaps an aid, because the companies could be made legally liable—that’s up to Congress—for not insisting on a warrant to access that information.

Patriot Act: Cool Mitch McConnell Gets Passionate — And Pays

May 28, 2015 Burgess Everett and Manu Raju, www.politico.com Resist! Law, Privacy, Surveillance, Terrorism, Wars and Militarism

Mitch McConnell rarely goes out on a limb on issues that divide Senate Republicans. He’s more prone to sit back and listen, let his conference work out their differences — and only then assert his own views. But the majority leader ditched that dispassionate approach when it came time to renew the country’s anti-terrorism surveillance laws — he spoke out early and vociferously against reforming soon-to-expire PATRIOT Act provisions — and the departure now threatens to undermine the Kentucky Republican’s vow to bring more responsible governance to the Senate. For weeks, McConnell tried to lay the groundwork for an extension of the post-9/11 law, only to be boxed into a corner by the House GOP leadership and his junior senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, who’ve pushed to substantially change or end the program.

Nationwide Sunset The Patriot Act Protests

May 20, 2015 CREDO, www.credoaction.com credoaction.com Resist! NSA, Patriot Act, Privacy, spying

Last week, the House overwhelmingly voted to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act by passing the USA FREEDOM Act, a dangerous bill that would authorize intrusive surveillance practices that a federal court just ruled are illegal. This is the last week the Senate is in session before the PATRIOT Act expires, so we have to speak out now and urge senators not to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act via the USA FREEDOM Act or any other bill. There's a rally near you. Will you attend? What: Emergency rallies to pressure Congress to sunset the PATRIOT Act When: Tomorrow, Thursday, May 21 Where: There are dozens of rallies all across the country – including one near you.

USA Freedom Act Passes, Codifying Bulk Data Collection

May 14, 2015 Sam Sacks, www.firstlook.org Educate! NSA, Privacy, spying

After only one hour of floor debate, and no allowed amendments, the House of Representatives today passed legislation that seeks to address the NSA’s controversial surveillance of American communications. However, opponents believe it may give brand new authorization to the U.S. government to conduct domestic dragnets. The USA Freedom Act was approved in a 338-88 vote, with approximately equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans voting against. Today’s legislation would prevent the government from issuing such orders for bulk collection and instead force it to rely on telephone companies to store all their metadata — some of which the government could then demand using a “specific selection term” related to foreign terrorism. Bill supporters maintain this would prevent indiscriminate collection. However, the legislation may not end bulk surveillance and in fact could codify the ability of the government to conduct dragnet data collection. “We’re taking something that was not permitted under regular section 215 … and now we’re creating a whole apparatus to provide for it,” Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich.

A Nation Of Snitches

May 12, 2015 Chris Hedges, www.truthdig.com Resist! Civil Liberties, Privacy, State, Surveillance, Terrorism

A totalitarian state is only as strong as its informants. And the United States has a lot of them. They read our emails. They listen to, download and store our phone calls. They photograph us on street corners, on subway platforms, in stores, on highways and in public and private buildings. They track us through our electronic devices. They infiltrate our organizations. They entice and facilitate “acts of terrorism” by Muslims, radical environmentalists, activists and Black Bloc anarchists, framing these hapless dissidents and sending them off to prison for years. They have amassed detailed profiles of our habits, our tastes, our peculiar proclivities, our medical and financial records, our sexual orientations, our employment histories, our shopping habits and our criminal records. They store this information in government computers. It sits there, waiting like a time bomb, for the moment when the state decides to criminalize us.

Right-Left Unite Over Extension Of Patriot Act

May 10, 2015 Julian Hattem, www.thehill.com Resist! Mass Surveillance, NSA, Patriot Act, Privacy, Surveillance

A coalition of advocacy groups from all sides of the political spectrum has joined forces to warn against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) plan to renew expiring portions of the Patriot Act without changes. Traditionally conservative organizations such as FreedomWorks and Gun Owners of America joined the American Civil Liberties Union, the NAACP and dozens of other groups to warn the Senate majority leader against his “clean” reauthorization of the national security law. “In the absence of meaningful reform, it is unacceptable to rubber stamp reauthorization of an authority that the government has used to spy on millions of innocent Americans,” the groups told McConnell and other leaders of Congress on Wednesday. “These bulk surveillance programs raise serious constitutional concerns, erode global confidence in the security of digital products, and are unnecessary for national security,” they added.

NSA Mass Phone Surveillance Revealed By Snowden Ruled Illegal

May 9, 2015 Dan Roberts and Spencer Ackerman, www.theguardian.com Resist! Law, NSA, Privacy, Surveillance

The US court of appeals has ruled that the bulk collection of telephone metadata is unlawful, in a landmark decision that clears the way for a full legal challenge against the National Security Agency. A panel of three federal judges for the second circuit overturned an earlier rulingthat the controversial surveillance practice first revealed to the US public by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 could not be subject to judicial review. But the judges also waded into the charged and ongoing debate over the reauthorization of a key Patriot Act provision currently before US legislators. That provision, which the appeals court ruled the NSA program surpassed, will expire on 1 June amid gridlock in Washington on what to do about it.

NSA Tech Generates Transcripts Of Private Calls

May 9, 2015 Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, www.readersupportednews.org Educate! NSA, Privacy, Surveillance

A new article by The Intercept details how the National Security Agency is converting people’s private phone conversations into searchable text. According to documents released by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the agency can now automatically recognize spoken words by generating rough transcripts and phonetic representations that are easily stored and combed for information. The top-secret documents show NSA analysts congratulated themselves on developing what they called "Google for Voice" nearly a decade ago. It remains unclear how widely the spy agency uses its speech-to-text capabilities to transcribe and index U.S. citizens’ verbal conversations. The documents suggest the NSA has frequently used the technology to intercept phone calls — particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as Mexico — and to monitor international news.

Canada Set To Pass It’s Patriot Act Despite Opposition

May 6, 2015 David Christopher, www.rabble.ca Resist! Canada, Law, Privacy, Surveillance

It's rare in Canadian politics to see intense public interest in government legislative proposals -- let alone to see Canadians take to the streets in the tens of thousands to protest a piece of legislation by name. Yet that's exactly what has happened in the case of Bill C-51, which critics, including The Globe and Mail's editorial team,say will undermine basic democratic values and lead to the creation of a "secret police force" in Canada. In the space of a few short months since Bill C-51 was announced, hundreds of thousands of people have taken action to stop it: signing petitions, writing letters to local newspapers, phoning and writing to their member of Parliament, and hitting the streets in nationwide demonstrations in over 70 communities across Canada.

French Patriot Act For Invasive Surveillance

May 6, 2015 Angelique Chrisafis, www.theguardian.com Educate! Europe, France, Privacy, Surveillance

The French parliament has overwhelmingly approved sweeping new surveillance powers in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris in January that killed 17 people at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery in Paris. The new bill, which allows intelligence agencies to tap phones and emails without seeking permission from a judge, sparked protests from rights groups who claimed it would legalise highly intrusive surveillance methods without guarantees for individual freedom and privacy. Protesters for civil liberties groups launched a last-ditch campaign against the bill under the banner “24 hours before 1984” in reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel about life under an all-knowing dictatorship. Groups including Amnesty International warned of “extremely large and intrusive powers” without judicial controls.

Word: Edward Snowden

May 6, 2015 Undernews, www.prorevnews.blogspot.com Educate! Media, NSA, Privacy, Snowden, Surveillance

National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden was interviewed on the German television network ARD. What many Americans may be unaware of is that the Edward Snowden interview was intentionally blocked from the US public with none of the major new outlets covering the interview or its contents. YouTube has even taken steps to remove the post as soon as it is reposted. The video got a wide viewing in Europe and it is not only an important interview when it comes to the vast surveillance state that is currently constructed, but is also still future. Snowden explained to German television (oh the irony here is rich) how tyrannical surveillance programs erode human rights and individual liberty and freedom.

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