U.S. Wants to Make It Easier to Wiretap the Internet

[Wolseley]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27wiretap.html?_r=1

Watch what you say.....Big Brother is listening to you!

 

[lemmings]

Democrats where more than a little outraged when Bush passed the PATRIOT Act that essentially set the standard for privacy issues. The progressives have had more than a few problems getting equally outraged by simulator legislation passed by Democratic Administrations like the DMCA passed by Clinton or the continuation and sometimes extension of Bush's civil rights violations by Obama.

Rather embarrassing and disheartening to say the least.

 

[FallenPaladin]

The US wants no such thing. At least nobody in the US I know of. I'm looking forward to getting my ACLU newsletter now.

 

[lawtonfogle]

They would have to make it illegal to produce programs that encrypt a message on one computer transmits it, and then decrypts it on another computer without giving the government the key (a communication which would destroy the security of the encryption). Basically, it would push the internet literate further into the zone of illegal.

To do the following would destroy the purpose of encryption to begin with.

¶ Communications services that encrypt messages must have a way to unscramble them.

 

[Billnew]

The goverment wants programers to put in place a system that the "goverment" could open files that the people wanted to keep secret?
The goverment that has trouble keeping military secrets?

They would have to make it illegal to produce programs that encrypt a message on one computer transmits it, and then decrypts it on another computer without giving the government the key (a communication which would destroy the security of the encryption). Basically, it would push the internet literate further into the zone of illegal.

To do the following would destroy the purpose of encryption to begin with.

Exactly.
If anyone can break the encryption, then why buy it?

Has there ever been technology that goverment has demanded changes to allow them to exploit the invention?

basically, if goverment gets the answer, then anyone can get the answer.
(hint; the goverment is a group of people. the more people that can get this information, the more chance it will be sold or exploited for personal gain.)

 

[Protocol11]

I think now would be a good time to laugh in the face of anyone who actually thought the dems cared about individual liberty on any scale.

I was listening to a local talk show with this the topic. Some guy actually called in and said the government should have the right to listen in on any conversation or communication without even having to get a warrant first. All because of, "the times we live in."

Said it before, and I'll say it again. This over-intrusive government we have coupled with the useful idiots they buy into the lies of the politicians are a far, far greater threat to this country than any terrorist group.

 

[KIYX]

Democrats where more than a little outraged when Bush passed the PATRIOT Act that essentially set the standard for privacy issues. The progressives have had more than a few problems getting equally outraged by simulator legislation passed by Democratic Administrations like the DMCA passed by Clinton or the continuation and sometimes extension of Bush's civil rights violations by Obama.

Rather embarrassing and disheartening to say the least.

The democrats outrage over the Patriot Act was just for show as their renewing it last year showed.

 

[KIYX]

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

-Benjamin Franklin

 

[SithDoughnut]

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

-Benjamin Franklin

Yeah, like those crazy people who want to keep murder illegal.

 

[Nathan45]

I think now would be a good time to laugh in the face of anyone who actually thought the dems cared about individual liberty on any scale.

I was listening to a local talk show with this the topic. Some guy actually called in and said the government should have the right to listen in on any conversation or communication without even having to get a warrant first. All because of, "the times we live in."

Said it before, and I'll say it again. This over-intrusive government we have coupled with the useful idiots they buy into the lies of the politicians are a far, far greater threat to this country than any terrorist group.

I am so damned angry at Obama right now. Constitutional scholar, my ass... He basically lied non-stop about civil liberties during the campaign. The worst part is that there's basically no alternative, republicans don't even pretend to care about civil liberties. So even in 2012 when Obama is up for re-election there will most likely be no alternative unless some kind of third party gets traction.

 

[Nathan45]

Yeah, like those crazy people who want to keep murder illegal.

I don't think that the right to murder is an essential liberty, and i don't think Ben Franklin thinks it is either.

The right to privacy is essential, IMO, because if you don't have it then you're often vulnerable to blackmail by whoever is spying on you. With unlimited powers of spying, the powers that be could selectively enforce laws only against their political opponents and use blackmail to accumulate power and influence, which is a threat to democracy.

P.S.: Is Ben Franklin not popular in Britain? I hope you're not taking that whole american revolution thing too personally

 

[KIYX]

Yeah, like those crazy people who want to keep murder illegal.

You consider murder to be an essential liberty?

Wow.

Ok.

 

[SithDoughnut]

You consider murder to be an essential liberty?

Wow.

Ok.

Deciding what it and isn't an 'essential' liberty is just a subjective and arbitrary decision. For someone who wants to kill someone, it probably is essential. It could also be argued that internet privacy isn't essential, as you're not forced to use it; you volunteer your information. I'm against the idea of wiretapping the internet but that quote is more sound bite than substance.

 

[Billnew]

I think now would be a good time to laugh in the face of anyone who actually thought the dems cared about individual liberty on any scale.

I was listening to a local talk show with this the topic. Some guy actually called in and said the government should have the right to listen in on any conversation or communication without even having to get a warrant first. All because of, "the times we live in."

Said it before, and I'll say it again. This over-intrusive government we have coupled with the useful idiots they buy into the lies of the politicians are a far, far greater threat to this country than any terrorist group.

Sadly, these people are not limited to either main political group.
There are left wingers and right wingers that believe this.
No matter which side of politics your on, as we have seen, both sides can
go crazy. Better to not trust goverment with to much personal stuff.

Sarcasm alert.
Remember, we should allow goverment to listen in, and be able to read our most secret files, we do it to make our police more efficient and to protect our children. You don't want our police to be obstructed or our children to be harmed do you? What kind of person are you?

 

[ACougar]

The reality is that there are groups of people in both parties who go for this sort of thing and groups of people in both parties who oppose this sort of thing. The ACLU is fighting it... or did they fail to talk about that on Faux news?

Without a warrant government should not have the right to spy on anyone. There has to be oversight for this kind of authority, to at least reduce the odds of it being abused.

What someone needs to do is develope a simple publicly available network encryptor that implements an unclassified Suite B algorythim like AES-256 and then sell it cheap. People will no longer need to rely on a service, they will be able to encrypt thier own traffic... there is no reason the same device couldn't also be used to protect data at rest on your computer.

I think now would be a good time to laugh in the face of anyone who actually thought the dems cared about individual liberty on any scale.

I was listening to a local talk show with this the topic. Some guy actually called in and said the government should have the right to listen in on any conversation or communication without even having to get a warrant first. All because of, "the times we live in."

Said it before, and I'll say it again. This over-intrusive government we have coupled with the useful idiots they buy into the lies of the politicians are a far, far greater threat to this country than any terrorist group.

 

[laconicstudent]

Isn't it strange how it was a Republican President and a Republican Congress who passed the PATRIOT Act and we had all those wire-taps without a warrant with?

 

[KIYX]

Isn't it strange how it was a Republican President and a Republican Congress who passed the PATRIOT Act and we had all those wire-taps without a warrant with?

I bet you find it just as strange that the democrats who raised such hell about the Patriot Act for the past 8 years, now that they have a Democratic president and democratic congress voted to renew the PATRIOT Act.

I don't.