Glen Greenwald: Surveillance State democracy
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/06/surveillance_state_democracy/CNETs excellent technology reporter, Declan McCullagh, reports on ongoing efforts by the Obama administration to force the Internet industry to provide the U.S. Government with backdoor access to all forms of Internet communication:
'The FBI is asking Internet companies not to oppose a controversial proposal that would require firms, including Microsoft, Facebook, Yahoo, and Google, to build in backdoors for government surveillance. . . . That included a scheduled trip this month to the West Coast which was subsequently postponed to meet with Internet companies CEOs and top lawyers. . . .
The FBI general counsels office has drafted a proposed law that the bureau claims is the best solution: requiring that social-networking Web sites and providers of VoIP, instant messaging, and Web e-mail alter their code to ensure their products are wiretap-friendly.
If you create a service, product, or app that allows a user to communicate, you get the privilege of adding that extra coding, an industry representative who has reviewed the FBIs draft legislation told CNET.'
As for the substance of this policy, I wrote about this back in September, 2010, when it first revealed that the Obama administration was preparing legislation to mandate that 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 be designed to ensure government surveillance access. This isnt about expanding the scope of the governments legal surveillance powers numerous legislative changes since 2001 have already accomplished that quite nicely but is about ensuring the governments physical ability to intrude into all forms of Internet communication.
saras
(6,670 posts)Equal rights are pretty unimportant if they are equal rights to not jack shit.
Since I am not ever going to live in the corporate middle-class world, it matters not a flying fuck to me how well, or not well, it works. Truthfully they are irrelevant. The global economy only needs a few workers, and service workers at that, but it REALLY doesn't need a middle class.
So if Obama does something that contributes to a post-corporate world of equality, good.
If he does something to make our lives more corporate, fuck it, no matter who gets to be screwed by it and whether they like it.
How about a policy whereby whistleblowers are guaranteed asylum and freedom from prosecution until all the information they present is evaluated by authorities OUTSIDE the industry or agency being reported on? I'd support that.
How about a policy whereby officials who spy on Americans illegally immediately lose their jobs, and if found guilty are never allowed to work in positions of public trust again? I'd support that.
How about a policy whereby corporations who attack the legitimate government of the United States are charged with treason? I'd support that.
Asshole all the way.