03 4 / 2012
27 1 / 2012
FBI seeking social media monitoring tool
January 27, 2012
WASHINGTON — The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for a tool to mine social media for intelligence tips.
The US domestic law enforcement agency is asking information technology contractors about the feasibility of building a tool that would “enhance its techniques for collecting and sharing ‘open source’ actionable intelligence.”
Read more on Raw Story.
27 1 / 2012
Google Privacy Policy Update
A brief overview of recent changes to the Google Privacy Policy
14 1 / 2012
Homeland Security monitors journalists in addition to political activist
January 14, 2012
Under the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative that emerged from the Department of Homeland Security in November, Washington has writtenpermission to collect and retain personal information from journalists, news anchors, reporters or anyone who uses “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.”
According to DHS, the definition of personal identifiable information can consist of any intellect “that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.”
Read more: Yahoo News
Also read: RT: FBI Targeting Political Activist as Terrorist
RT: Homeland Security monitors Journalist
From RT News: Anti-terrorism resources are being used to target environmentalists, peace, animal and political activists who hold different views than the government.
It was recently revealed that a counter-terrorism firm spied on individuals who attended film screenings of the documentary Gasland. The film focuses on the practice of natural gas fracking and what impact it has on the environment and in the communities where it is used.
The FBI and other government agencies are cracking down on those who are not willing to say in line with the status quo.
In Pennsylvania, activists have faced terrorism charges for writing slogans in chalk on sidewalks. In California, 27 individuals are set to go on trial stemming for protest actions Elsewhere 23 anti-war, pro-labor and international solidarity activists may face a grand jury on trumped up charged. The FBI boasts 164,000 suspicious activity reports that are made up of activists who do not follow the governments view on matters.
The US government is using taxpayer money to squash the competition as opposed to protecting the American people from true terrorist threats, all while stomping on freedom of speech rights.
Carlos Montes, a co-founder of the Brown Berets Chicano Movement explained there is a marked rise of the US government using tools at their disposal designed to fight terrorism to impose oppression on political activists.
“The protest movements are directly exposing and challenging the lines that the US government puts out,” he said, yet law enforcement authorities continue to crack down without just cause. “It’s a war against dissent.”
The government is working to stop the movement which is merely seeking to exercise its right to free speech and the right to protest
“They’re trying to stop us but we’re not going to let them do it,” Montes added.
01 12 / 2011
BUSTED! Secret app on millions of phones logs key taps
December 01, 2011
Update:
iOS Devices may be running Carrier IQ also
An Android app developer has published what he says is conclusive proof that millions of smartphones are secretly monitoring the key presses, geographic locations, and received messages of its users. Watch video here.
Read the rest of this shocking report here on The Register - Biting the hand that feeds IT
11 11 / 2011
US court verdict ‘huge blow’ to privacy, says fomer WikiLeaks aide Birgitta Jonsdottir
Decision made to open Twitter account of Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir, who is taking the case to the Council of Europe
The Guardian: Icelandic MP and former WikiLeaks volunteer Birgitta Jonsdottir has slammed the decision by US courts to open her Twitter account to the US authorities and is taking her case to the Council of Europe.
On Thursday a US judge ruled Twitter must release the details of her account and those of two other Twitter users linked to WikiLeaks. Jonsdottir learned in January that her Twitter account was under scrutiny from the Justice Department because of her involvement last year with WikiLeaks’ release of a video showing a US military helicopter shooting two Reuters reporters in Iraq. She believes the US authorities want to use her information to try and build a case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.“This is a huge blow for everybody that uses social media,” said Jonsdottir. “We have to have the same civil rights online as we have offline. Imagine if the US authorities wanted to do a house search at my home, go through my private papers. There would be a hell of a fight. It’s absolutely unacceptable.”
She said she would press for the Council of Europe to act on the case, which she believes sets a worrying precedent for private citizens and politicians across the world.
06 11 / 2011
Justices Weigh Privacy vs. GPS Bugs
In a case that questions the Constitution’s meaning in light of modern surveillance technology, the Supreme Court will consider Tuesday whether police need a warrant before secretly attaching a GPS tracking device to a suspect’s car.
At issue is the narcotics conviction of a Washington, D.C., nightclub owner that a federal appeals court threw out because prosecutors learned of his visits to a house where drugs were trafficked through a tracking device installed without a valid warrant.Source
02 11 / 2011
Governments using hacking techniques to spy on citizens
Raw Story: Many governments are now conducting domestic surveillance using the same techniques employed by hackers, according to a new report.
The Guardian revealed Tuesday that law enforcement and intelligence agencies from governments across the world came to the Intelligence Support Systems (ISS) World Americas last month where they were offered the latest spying technology to use against their own citizens.
The conference, which is off-limits to the public and the media, featured technology to intercept cell phones, skype, and email. GPS tracking and traditional hacking were also popular products.
26 9 / 2011
EFF Petition: Don't Let Privacy Law Get Stuck in 1986. Demand a Digital Upgrade!
I just signed a petition and sent a note urging Congress to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. ECPA, which was originally passed in 1986, is the primary law governing when law enforcement can access our digital data—but it’s woefully outdated and unclear. Join me in telling Congress that if the government wants to track our cell phones, or see what web sites we’ve visited, or rummage through our Gmail, or read our private messages on Facebook, it should first be required to go to a judge and get a search warrant based on probable cause. Please join me in signing this petition and demanding a digital upgrade to our electronic privacy laws:
You can sign too here.
11 8 / 2011
Support the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act, H.R. 2168 and S.1212
I am writing to urge you to contact Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) or Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) to sign on as a co-sponsor and to pledge your support for the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act, H.R. 2168 and S.1212, bills that would protect sensitive location information data by requiring law enforcement to get a warrant based on probable cause before accessing it and also regulate the use of this information by businesses. With location tracking cases rising up all over the country this bill would provide a strong and clear national standard for law enforcement.
The fact is, if you use a cell phone, your location is being recorded and stored. And law enforcement agencies see it as a gold mine of information that’s there for the taking. We already know that one local police department sought information about every cell phone that happened to be in the vicinity of a planned labor protest.
We shouldn’t have to choose between the convenience of technology and our right to personal privacy. New bills have been introduced by Sen. Wyden and Rep. Chaffetz that would create stronger location privacy protections. Tell your senators and representative to support updated location privacy legislation now.
Currently, the government claims that it doesn’t need to go to a judge and get a full probable cause warrant before tracking cell phones. And because the government’s applications are secret, we don’t know just how it’s using this invasive form of surveillance.
That’s why last week, 34 ACLU affiliates across the country filed public records requests to find out just how far local law enforcement is going to track people using their cell phones. Through our public records requests, we expect to learn more about when, why and how local police are using cell phone location data to track us. In the meantime, we need to act now to demand stronger laws that protect all of us.
—-
Join the ACLU emailing list and get active! :D http://www.aclu.org/
08/10/11
