Timothy Williams: Facial Recognition Software Used To Identify Terrorists Now Deployed By The Local Police

'Public servants' treat citizens as potential suspects.   Facial recognition software, which American military and intelligence agencies used for years in Iraq and Afghanistan to identify potential terrorists, is being eagerly adopted by dozens of police departments around the country to pursue drug dealers, prostitutes and other conventional     ... MORE

Chris Christie And Rand Paul Reflect The Clash Between The GOP's Authoritarian And Libertarian Tendencies

by Jacob Sullum.     One of the most telling moments in last week's Republican presidential debate came when moderator Megyn Kelly asked New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to defend his position that Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator, should be held responsible for the next terrorist attack on Americans because he opposes the National Security Agency's   ... MORE

Paul Rosenberg: Why You Must Dump Microsoft NOW

"they redefined their operating system to be spyware."   I’ve written about dumping Microsoft before – and I stand by those comments – but the newest outrage from Redmond forces me to it again. I don’t care how “inconvenient” you think it may be, you have to stop enriching Microsoft. NOW. Yes, I have serious issues with Apple too, but   ... MORE

Jacob Sullum: Suspended Cops Say Video Of Them Eating Marijuana Edibles During a Raid Violated Their Privacy

A classic cop-out. Remember the Santa Ana, California, cops who were caught on video munching on what seem to be cannabis-infused chocolate bars after raiding an unlicensed medical marijuana dispensary in May? The Orange County Register reports that three officers who were suspended after the incident are trying to stop the Santa Ana Police    ... MORE

Local Gov'ts Are Increasingly Poking Through Your Garbage

by Jenna McLaughlin.     "Nothing is safe, not even our trash."     Civil libertarians are worried about an increasingly common form of domestic surveillance that has nothing to do with listening to your phone calls or reading your emails; it has to do with looking through your garbage. Municipalities across the United States are implementing    ... MORE

Bill Perna: Why Some Americans Hate Edward Snowden

We can no longer be in denial.  Edward Snowden's actions confronts us with a vexing problem. Because of Snowden's actions we are now burdened with the knowledge and evidence that we live in a surveillance state. We are confronted with our complacency. A fundamental question begs an answer. What does it now mean to be an American?       ... MORE

The FBI Wants The Key to Your Data: Is Gov't-Resistant Encryption An Intolerable Threat To Public Safety?

by Jacob Sullum.      Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, FBI Director James Comey argued that data should never be transmitted or stored in a way that frustrates government snooping. Comey warned that encryption is a boon to criminals and therefore must be designed so that law enforcement agencies can decode it   ... MORE

Feds Can Read Every Email You Opened Without A Warrant

by Zack Whittaker.     It's no longer a surprise that the government is reading your emails. What you might not know is that it can readily read most of your email without a warrant. Any email or social networking message you've opened that's more than six months old can also be accessed by every law enforcement official in government --   ... MORE

Jacob Sullum: Christie Vs. Paul On Surveillance & Security

NJ governor unconcerned about warrantless snooping.  Chris Christie says Rand Paul, one of his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, is "politicizing America's national security" by objecting to the government's indiscriminate collection of our telephone records. The New Jersey governor's puzzling charge against the Kentucky senator    ... MORE

Giving Government 'Backdoor' Access To Encrypted Data Threatens Both Personal Privacy And National Security

How domestic spying makes us less safe. The "Crypto Wars" are here again, which means federal officials are doing all they can to limit the technological tools that keep our personal data secure. President Obama and leaders from the National Security Agency (NSA), FBI, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have been pressuring   ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: Lies The Government Is Telling You

Because the government is not us.    Last week, Republicans and Democrats in Congress joined President Barack Obama in congratulating themselves for taming the National Security Agency's voracious appetite for spying. By permitting one section of the Patriot Act to expire and by replacing it with the USA Freedom Act, the federal government   ... MORE

Connie Mack IV: A Spirited Defense Of Liberty

Liberty has a champion.  Whether you like his brand of conservatism or not — and there’s plenty about his approach to national security and foreign policy that I don’t like — you have to admire the principled stand that Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky took on the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. Mr. Paul made Americans step back and take a  ... MORE

Sheldon Richman: The USA Freedom Act Is Inscrutable Because Politicians Know Power Thrives On Complexity

Just as roaches flourish in the dark.      In a democracy citizens prevent the government from abusing them by staying informed and exercising their "rights" under the system. They monitor the politicians’ and bureaucrats’ conduct, and when citizens see what they consider misbehavior, they act to stop it either by communicating     ... MORE

Edward Snowden Is A Patriot And Deserves Freedom

by Jacob Weisberg.  What is the responsibility of public servants who believe that the government is abusing its authority? In most cases, US law encourages them to expose wrongdoing. The Whistleblower Protection Act passed in 1989 protects “any disclosure” that an employee reasonably believes indicates the violation of laws or rules, “gross    ... MORE

Leaked TISA Documents Reveal Another Privacy Threat

by Emma Woolacott.    Under the draft provisions of the latest trade deal to be leaked by Wikileaks, countries could be barred from trying to control where their citizens’ personal data is held or whether it’s accessible from outside the country. Wikileaks has released 17 documents relating to the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), currently    ... MORE

VIDEO: The Patriot Act and The Freedom Act

Rand Paul, Ron Wyden, & The End Of The 9/11 Terror Fog

by Nick Gillespie.    So provisions in The Patriot Act have expired, including some (such as section 215) that won't be renewed when Congress gets around to passing the reform legislation known as The USA Freedom Act. This is good news, even if many of the Patriot Act's controversial elements will become authorized under the replacement bill.    ... MORE

New Privacy App Takes A Page From NSA Technology

by Rob Lever. Before the National Security Agency began complaining about being shut out of encrypted devices, it helped develop software for secure communications that could be adapted by the private sector. That technology is hitting the public this month in the form of a smartphone application called Scrambl3 from a California startup which   ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: Saving The Fourth

The Patriot Act has a bad pedigree and an evil history. In the fearful days immediately following 9/11, the Department of Justice quickly sent draft legislation to Congress that, if enacted, would have permitted federal agents to violate their oaths to uphold the Constitution by writing their own search warrants. The draft subsequently was revealed  ... MORE

Farai Chideya: Your Data Is Showing -- Breaches Continue To Wreak Havoc While the Government Plays Catch-Up

Government's incentive is to infiltrate, not protect.      When Kansas City, Missouri, real estate appraiser Dave Markus learned he was one of about 80 million people whose personal data was exposed in the Anthem health insurance breach discovered at the end of January, he immediately signed up for an identity protection service. But   ... MORE