Month

Archives: Government surveillance

Dear Mr. Holder: Why Ed Snowden can’t get a Fair Trial in your National Security State

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Former US Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview that what NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden did was illegal but added ""We…

The late great Fourth Amendment: Feds, Police and Intrusive Technologies

By Matthew Harwood and Jay Stanley | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - Can’t you see the writing on the touchscreen? A techno-utopia is upon us. We’ve gone from smartphones at the…

Mr. President: Weakening Apple’s Defenses puts us all at Risk

Electronic Frontier Foundation | - - The Apple Fight Is About All of Us A Joint Statement from Access Now, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation Apple is…

The FBI’s outrageous assault on the 1st Amendment and Apple

By Andrew Crocker | ( Electronic Frontier Foundation ) | - - Last week, EFF filed a brief in support of Apple’s fight against the FBI, in which we argued that forcing…

How the FBI is endangering everyone’s Security to get at one iPhone

By Joseph Bonneau | ( Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - The legal dispute between Apple and the FBI might prove pivotal in the long-running battle to protect users' privacy and right…

Top 5 Scalia Rulings that helped Progressives

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Justice Antonin Scalia died in Texas on Saturday. IC sends condolences to his family. Scalia is widely recognized as having been a brilliant…

Snowden Wins, You Win: NSA halts mass Warrantless Surveillance of your Telephone Records

Snowden restores 4th Amendment: NSA halts mass Warrantless spying on your Telephone Records

By David Greene and Nadia Kayyali | ( Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - The NSA’s collection en masse of the call detail records of millions of ordinary Americans ended quietly at…

Trump’s call for Spying on US Muslims recalls FBI bugging of MLK, Black Churches

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - As Donald Trump supporters beat a 'Black Lives Matter' protester at his rally in Birmingham, Ala., Trump himself reminded us of the dark…

If Trump can track Muslims, close Mosques, what can he do to You?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump, having said earlier that he might seek to close down mosques if he were president, on Thursday went…

After Paris, it’s good detective work that will keep us safe, not mass surveillance

By Pete Fussey | (The Conversation) | - - Before the dust has even settled from the attacks on Paris, familiar calls for greater surveillance powers are surfacing. The desire for greater…

In ‘Spectre,’ James Bond becomes Edward Snowden

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The latest entry in the Daniel Craig reboot of the James Bond film franchise, Spectre , turns Bond into more muscular version of…

2016 Campaign and Forever War: Electorate gone to Disney World

By Tom Engelhardt | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | - - You may not know it, but you’re living in a futuristic science fiction novel. And that’s a fact. If you were to…

3rd Circuit to NYC: Being Muslim is not Reasonable Suspicion for Surveillance

By Nadia Kayyali | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - Being Muslim can’t be the basis for law enforcement surveillance. That was the message from the Third Circuit last Tuesday when it…

Citing NSA Spying, Euro Court of Justice Forbids Auto-Sharing of Personal Info

Danny O'Brien | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - The spread of knowledge about the NSA's surveillance programs has shaken the trust of customers in U.S. Internet companies like Facebook, Google, and…

Ghoul’s Glossary: “Migrants” or “Refugees” or “Anchor Babies”?

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Migrants: Those who voluntarily go to another country to live and work, seeking a better life. Refugees: Those who are forced out of…

Appeals Court Falls for Government’s Shell Game in NSA Spying Case

By Cindy Cohn | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s opinion today in Klayman v. Obama is highly disappointing and, worse, based on…

New Proof: AT&T and NSA’s Long Surveillance Partnership shredded 4th Amendment

By Mark Rumold | ( Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - Reports today in the New York Times and ProPublica confirm what EFF’s Jewel v. NSA lawsuit has claimed since 2008—that the…

Fighting for Privacy, Two Years After Snowden

By Richard Esguerra | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - - Two years ago today, Glenn Greenwald published in the Guardian a single document confirming a key piece of the NSA's surveillance program,…

Wins and Losses for Liberty and Privacy in USA Freedom Act

By Cindy Cohn and Mark Jaycox | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | - The Senate passed the USA Freedom Act today by 67-32, marking the first time in over thirty years that both…

Thank you, Edward Snowden: An End to General Warrants as so-called PATRIOT Act expires

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) - The US government behemoth dedicated to spying on us all in contravention of the Constitution will likely be only slightly inconvenienced by the expiration of…