1y ago

'Eyes Everywhere': Congress Is About to Vote to Expand Mass Surveillance of Americans, Experts Warn

www.vice.com

'Eyes Everywhere': Congress Is About to Vote to Expand Mass Surveillance of Americans, Experts Warn::Privacy experts worry that a proposed reform bill would greatly widen how the government can surveil Americans’ digital communications.

35 comments

- Its about pushing boundaries.
  If a camera on every street corner is legal, just imagine what they are doing with that data.
  Same thing with actionable data. If the goal is to just abduct you in a black helicopter and waterboard you, the law doesn't matter. If the goal is to ruin your reputation and put you and other "enemies of the state" in prison, then you need a legal basis. Otherwise it becomes a huge kerfuffle and you become a martyr.
  
  With AI and knowledge of everyone, the rich will be able to control us. Some might say they're not controllable, but you are the minority. Mass surveillance and control is what we're heading for. 1984 I might sound like a tinfoil nutjob but it's slowly happening and most don't even notice.
- They want to be like the CCP.
  
  But why? What's in it for them?

We keep going backwards in regards to digital privacy.
- That's been kinda the whole theme of the US lately.
  
  22+ years isn't what I'd consider "lately"
- Have we ever gone forward?
  
  It is the mission to make sure Osama bin Laden's long game was successful. He destroyed democracy and freedom exactly like he wanted. Now we have Republican Jihads. He won.
  
  What do I look like a shareholder?
- I’ll take “things that boomers don’t understand” for 400, alex.

Apparently, as a nation, we're supposed to be surprised that they're trying to pass laws that "let" them do what they've already been doing for decades...

For anyone that still doesn't know, this is already a thing for all US made (owned) hardware. Has been for 15 years+. This is expanding it to everything that would be sold on the market. You know phones are hotspots too... That's right.
You know why the US is so against Huawei? Because they CANT spy on every packet like they can with a Cisco, Juniper, Ruckus, etc switch. And when those start to be installed in scale, it's a problem for the intelligence collection. This is just a small change to make what's already there more palatable in stages. So that in another decade when things become declassified fully and more publisized, Americans don't believe it is an issue.
- deleted
  
  Indeed, it's useful to China for blackmail, but they'd have a much harder time rolling me up in the US than the US government. And it's likely hardly worth the effort to the extent they might try.
  
  Absolutely. I 100% prefer the Chinese to have all my data. I am a nothing person with no political power so if China wants to surveil me and train datasets with my data, cool. Because the alternative is the US and five eyes having that data and I absolutely do not want that.
  Unfortunately it makes you look like the crazy uncle in the tinfoil hat if you try to bring it up. It's so outlandishly crazy like a Hollywood movie people don't believe it's real.
- I'm sorry, a SWITCH being backdoored when they are 95% not exposed to the internet?

They pulled both bills due to backlash: https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3wkdg/fisa-surveillance-bill-congress-pulled.
Your voices do matter. Don't ever drop your guard. Privacy will be a battle to stay vigilant over forever.
- That's a pretty idealist take in the grand scheme of things. We have hard data that public opinion has virtually no influence on what the law is.
  https://act.represent.us/sign/problempoll-fba
  If it's something capitalists really want, it'll get put into law. In this case, it's possible they actually don't care to give the government the ability to surveil the public better, so it might be one of the very few things where public backlash could stop it (would actually need data to support this, not just some anecdotes).
  Trying to apply this to the broader sociopolitical climate and saying "your voices do matter" is just too reductive. If it's the public vs. the capitalist class in American "democracy", the capitalist class wins every time.
  "For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. "

Literally 1984. Since when are the US of A a part of Oceania?
- USA has always been at war with Eastasia.
  
  No, the USA has always been at war with Eurasia. Oh wait sorry that was yesterday. You are right. The USA has always been at war with Eastasia. What were we talking about again? bb plusgood.

i always hate these headlines, who the hell are those "experts", same applies to the word "scientists"

From the actual bill: https://intelligence.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1323
The bill enhances accountability for FBI and other government officials who fail to comply with the laws and rules governing FISA. For example, the bill:
Holds FBI executive leaders accountable for FISA non-compliance, including by withholding promotions or compensation.
Ensures accountability for FBI employees who conduct noncompliant U.S. person queries, including zero tolerance for willful misconduct and escalating consequences for unintentional non-compliance.
Creates new specific criminal liability and administrative penalties and increases existing penalties for government officials who engage in a range of intentional misconduct related to FISA, such as leaking FISA-derived information or making a false declaration before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
- That's not from the bill; that's from a press release.
- escalating consequences for unintentional non-compliance.
  Oops! Spied on you. Sooowwwyy. I'll take a paid week off(to think about your nudes).

35 comments