Posts
All of the major law enforcement agencies in the United States want new laws for the internet in order to track terrorist and their activities more easily since those groups are now using the net more frequently to communicate with each other. So folks, look out because we are about to get fucked by the government once again in regards to our civil liberties.
Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that enable communications — including encrypted e-mail transmitters like BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software that allows direct “peer to peer” messaging like Skype — to be technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble encrypted messages. New York Times
I am a very heavy user of Skype and for many years governments all over the world have been trying to get this p2p to make it easier to track communications on the network.
The Barack Bush Obama administration plans on introducing a bill to our lawmakers next year, one which will no doubt have the backing of the Republicans on the other side of the isle.
James X. Dempsey, vice president of the Center for Democracy and Technology, an Internet policy group, said the proposal had “huge implications” and challenged “fundamental elements of the Internet revolution” — including its decentralized design.
“They are really asking for the authority to redesign services that take advantage of the unique, and now pervasive, architecture of the Internet,” he said. “They basically want to turn back the clock and make Internet services function the way that the telephone system used to function.”
One of the joys of the digital age is that law enforcement can track you down at the snap of a finger if they have the authorization to do so. Do you remember those illegal wiretaps that the Bush administration did with the help of ATT? Can you imagine the information that could be gotten on the net with the help of a company such as Comcast? I can, and it is a scary thought.
“We’re talking about lawfully authorized intercepts,” said Valerie E. Caproni, general counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “We’re not talking expanding authority. We’re talking about preserving our ability to execute our existing authority in order to protect the public safety and national security.”
Investigators have been concerned for years that changing communications technology could damage their ability to conduct surveillance. In recent months, officials from the F.B.I., the Justice Department, the National Security Agency, the White House and other agencies have been meeting to develop a proposed solution.
Where have I heard similar words before?
