Showing posts with label privacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label privacy. Show all posts

California: Protect Your Driver's License Privacy

by Jeremy Gillula and Dave Maass.     The California Legislature wants the DMV to start issuing “Enhanced Driver Licenses” (EDL), similar to a REAL ID, that contain an RFID tag that could expose information about you from up to 30 feet away.  We need your help to bring S.B. 249 to a screeching halt by calling or emailing your state legislator today.  ... MORE

Big Government Update:The California Gas Restriction Act Of 2015 Spells The End Of Privacy For California Drivers

Big Brother is watching.     The California Gas Restriction Act of 2015, Senate Bill 350, not only is a reckless political agenda but one that will raise costs drastically in California, burden the State with yet more regulations, and eliminate citizens’ privacy. Regulators now have a plan to monitor personal driving data that can be used to enforce gas   ... MORE

Orwellian Justice Upholds NSA Spying on Americans: Court of Appeals Upholds Unconstitutional Mass Surveillance

by Stephen Lendman. Virtually unrestricted NSA data mining tramples on Fourth Amendment rights brazenly. In December 2013, Federal District Court of the District of Columbia Judge Richard Leon ruled NSA spying unconstitutional, saying: The threshold issue is whether plaintiffs have a reasonable expectation of privacy that is violated when the     ... MORE

Steve Weis: When Curtains Block Justice

A parody of “When Phone Encryption Blocks Justice”.    In June, a laptop was stolen from a bedroom on a Monday afternoon in Palo Alto, CA, a suburb 15 miles south of San Francisco. There were no witnesses to the larceny, and no surveillance footage either. With a laptop thief on the loose and few leads at their disposal, investigators  ... MORE

AT&T Has “Partnership” With NSA To Spy On US Internet

by Clayton Browne.     Your world delivered. The most recent release of secret documents by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden makes it clear that telecom giant AT&T has been actively cooperating with the NSA in its large scale program to spy on the internet traffic of Americans. Based on the documents, it appears that AT&T has been        ... MORE

Andrew Napolitano: Chris Christie vs. Rand Paul

Or, King George vs. Thomas Jefferson.  The dust-up between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul over presidential fidelity to the Constitution – particularly the Fourth Amendment – was the most illuminating two minutes of the Republican debate last week. It is a well-regarded historical truism that the Fourth Amendment was   ... MORE

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