...the wave of new technologies
could usher in a lifestyle inimical to most Americans.
"It is beginning to call into
question morality and ethics, challenge our value system, dredging up Orwellian
possibilities... . We are being confronted by technical innovations based on
nanotechnologies, very advanced computational capabilities, the amassing of
data. We are being, I would say, challenged and threatened in some cases, in the
context of American civil rights and American civil liberties. . . . So much
information is available now in the digital realm, and we don’t even know what
exists out there on each of us. We aren’t in control of it, we aren't in command
of it. It is highly mobile, it is manipulatable, it is configurable across the
digital realm in ways that most people just don’t comprehend.”
Such technologies, says Hughes,
if not carefully managed and monitored, could imperil the very rights he has
spent a lifetime defending. He worries that Americans do not fully appreciate
the stakes. He supports a program of communication intercepts only if based on
probable cause and direct links with terrorists, but he is vehemently opposed to
broad domestic surveillance and monitoring of America’s telephone and Internet
traffic." from Nation of Secrets: Ted Gup.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is calling on people to sign an online petition
that urges their lawmakers to oppose the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and
Protection Act, known as CISPA, by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and
Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.). The organization claims the bill "offers
broad immunities to companies who choose to share data with government
agencies (including the private communications of users) in the name of
cybersecurity." (2/14/2013)
CRS Report to Congress:
Fusion Centers: Issues and Options for Congress.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued
a report to Congress on the deployment of over
40 Fusion Centers throughout the nation. Fusion
Centers are the most recent effort by the
federal government to establish an operational
domestic surveillance program. The CRS report
states that officials justifying the development
of fusion centers use a number of presumptions,
and that the goals of the centers seem to be
unfocused with wide-ranging explanations on what
they are intended to accomplish. The report
outlined threats to civil liberties and privacy
posed by the deployment of Fusion Centers, which
have no laws governing them. (July 10, 2007)
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) - The
Federal Bureau of Investigation wants U.S.
Internet providers to retain Web address records
for up to two years to aid investigations into
terrorism and pornography, a source familiar with
the matter said on Thursday. The request came during a May 26 meeting
between U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and
FBI Director Robert Mueller with top executives at
companies like Google Inc.
, Microsoft Corp.
and Time Warner Inc.'s
AOL.
If you are not paying close attention, you may not realize that banks are now
agents used to watch your
financial transactions.
Real ID Act
The
Real ID Act of 2005 would turn our state driver’s
licenses into a genuine national identity card and impose numerous new burdens
on taxpayers, citizens, immigrants, and state governments – while doing nothing
to protect against terrorism. As a result, it is stirring intense opposition
from many groups across the political spectrum.
Real Nightmare.org provides
information about opposing Real ID. no2id.net
RF-ID Giants Merge 09 Aug 2007
Applied Digital
Solutions, a leading provider of identification and security technology, and
Digital Angel
Corporation, which develops RF-ID for people and animals, today
announced that they have entered into a merger agreement. Under the
agreement, Applied Digital and Digital Angel will create the world’s leading
provider of identification, location and wellness [?] monitoring systems for
people and animals.
US doles out millions for street cameras --Local efforts raise
privacy alarms 12 Aug 2007 The Department of Homeland Security is funneling
millions of dollars to local governments nationwide for purchasing high-tech
video camera networks, accelerating the rise of a "surveillance society" in
which the sense of freedom that stems from being anonymous in public will be
lost, privacy rights advocates warn. DHS will not say how much of its
taxpayer-funded grants have gone to cameras.
LAX computer failure keeps thousands of fliers detained 13 Aug 2007
Weary international passengers were stuck at Los Angeles International Airport
for hours, unable to set foot in the United States after a computer failure
prevented customs from screening arrivals. Over 20,000 international passengers,
Americans and foreigners, sat in four airport terminals and in 60 planes
starting about 2 p.m. Saturday, when the computer system broke down, said Los
Angeles World Airports spokesman Paul Haney.
KNBC Report: LAX
Computer Glitch Recurs Early Monday
13 Aug 2007 The Customs and Border Protection computer glitch that stranded more
than 20,000 inbound international travelers at Los Angeles International Airport
over the weekend recurred overnight, affecting about 1,700 inbound international
passengers between 11:50 p.m. Sunday and 1:15 a.m. Monday, KNBC reported. The
computer system helps officials identify people who have been placed on a no-fly
list and who are denied entry into the United States as security risks.
Court Says Travelers
Can't Avoid Airport Searches
By David Kravets 10 Aug 2007 U.S. airline passengers near the security
checkpoint can be searched any time and no longer can refuse consent by leaving
the airport, the nation's largest federal appeals court ruled Friday... Citing
threats of terrorism, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled passengers give up all rights to be free of warrantless searches once
a "passenger places hand luggage on a conveyor belt for inspection" or "passes
though a magnetometer."
Americans Want to be Surveilled
An ABC
poll has revealed that
two thirds of Americans are willing to
accept heightened government intrusion on privacy and support the increased use
of surveillance cameras to solve crime.