Justice Department seeks to have all web surfing tracked

[tpsbmam]

Source: Raw Story

WASHINGTON — The US Justice Department wants Internet service providers and cell phone companies to be required to hold on to records for longer to help with criminal prosecutions.

<snip>

The justice official said greater data retention requirements raise legitimate privacy concerns but "any privacy concerns about data retention should be balanced against the needs of law enforcement to keep the public safe."

John Morris, general counsel at the non-profit Center for Democracy & Technology, said mandatory data retention "raises serious privacy and free speech concerns."

"A key to protecting privacy is to minimize the amount of data collected and held by ISPs and online companies in the first place," he said.


More at link.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/justice-department-web-surfing-tracked/

---

1984 in 2011.

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Orwell warned us.

Nobody listened.

[No Elephants]

25. Many listened. Few knew what to do. I thought voting Dem would protect us.

[FiveGoodMen]

33. Yeah, I used to think that, too.

Not only were the Democratic politicians willing to compromise on every aspect of American freedom and justice, but so very many at this site are fine with any level of treachery so long as it's carried out by their chosen betrayers.

You're right, who knew it would be like this?

[Occulus]

39. Plenty of people listened

but most of them are using 1984 as an instruction book.

[sasha031]

2. I know this is wrong

but do you think they may be doing this because of the right wing nut jobs that are cropping up?

[Webster Green]

6. More likely to round up anti-war activists.

Obama's Dept. of "Justice" is a disgrace.

[pscot]

8. Yes, it is.

[somone]

7. There are judges and warrants

All they have to do is get a probable cause and call or fax a judge for approval.

[sasha031]

10. it worries me seeing the comments on YouTube

on liberal video's, the right is very creepy.

[stockholmer]

16. they dont care if you're so-called left OR right,they OWN you as surety,they want 2 track the goods

Yuri Bezmenov, ex-KGB explaining take down from within-Video

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x32cxf_yuri-bezmenov?from=rss


Yuri Bezmenov, The Subversion Process-Video


http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=66245842658CE1AF

[No Elephants]

26. Once a system is in place, the original reason doesn't much matter.

Besides, our history is that the "subversive left" is the victim of these things far more than the Kool Aid "patriots" on the right.

And, wrong is wrong.

[somone]

3. "to keep the public safe"?

same old shit

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

12. I thought their oath is to "protect the Constitution"

You can justify any action -- including torture -- under the catch all explanation that you are "keeping the public safe."

It's a lot harder to show how violating a citizen's rights -- like the above example -- falls under the obligation to "protect the Constitution."

[markpkessinger]

37. Excellent Point

For all the gum-flapping that goes on concerning the Constitution -- and from every corner of the political universe -- nowhere in the Constitution is the President or the government charged with "keeping us safe" beyond providing for the "common defense." The founders certainly did not fetishize "safety" the way many of us do today; they knew that the world was a dangerous place, and that living with an element of danger is the price of living in a free society. They certainly did not advocate the government trampling on the freedom of speech and freedom of association of virtually all citizens based on the fear that somewhere, someplace, someone might be planning to do something illegal.

And you are right, of course, that once basic rights are impinged or abridged based on a "public safety" justification, anything and everything can be justified. It really doesn't take much for a malicious leader or political group to declare that political speech (including online research and communications) that the leader/group disagrees with is a "threat to public safety." What astounds me is that so many people are either blind to this fact, or refuse see it.

[Dappleganger]

38. To keep corporations safe.

They're afraid of more Assange's popping up.

[Joanne98]

44. Bingo!

[sailor65]

4. It's no coincidence at all

that he invoked Facebook and Google, the two companies that have done the most to eradicate internet privacy.

[sasha031]

5. good point

[Arrowhead2k1]

9. "any privacy concerns about data retention should be balanced against the needs

of law enforcement to keep the public safe."

No, no it shouldn't. I feel pretty darn safe already thank you very much. You don't need to invade people's privacy, k? Tnx...

[fatbuckel]

11. Google "carnivore".I think thats how its spelled. Been happening for years.

[micraphone]

13. Exactly right. Worldwide spying too with the NSA's

Echelon network.

Eavesdropping the world by your Gov, an equal opportunities spy organisation.

[stockholmer]

17. Carnivore, Einstein, Tempest, and Echelon, etc etc here is basic primer on some

http://www.akdart.com/carniv.html


Are You a “Perfect Citizen”? NSA Will Deploy Snooping Sensors on Private Networks

http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/07/are-you-a-perfect-citizen-nsa-will-deploy-snooping-sensors-on-private-networks/

[No Elephants]

27. What's your point? That we should have protested sooner? Or that this is okay?

[queerart]

14. Too Late.... It's Already Being Done......

That horse left the barn long ago.....



As someone said to me just the other day.......



It's easier to ask for forgiveness, then to ask for permission......



It's already being done, they just want it to look like they asked ahead of time......



Most websites want to get paid for "clicks"... and the price is, the surfers (their visitors) are tracked... and they have been doing this for some time.....



... and the information collected on peoples static ip's, and movement from large search engines is sold (with out a doubt) to the government.

[No Elephants]

28. You don't seem to be distinguishing between what private persons do and what government does.

[ret5hd]

36. You seem to be distinguishing between business and government.

[queerart]

45. Indeed.....

The government may not have it's finger prints on it "directly"..... but the government is "likely" their biggest customer...


... and I challenge you that if you have access to "bandwidth logs" (from posting a photo or what not from your own domain or storage area) that you look them over.... you may indeed have an interesting surprise as to "whom", and from what static domains are watching what (photos, material, ect) that you are posting online... directly from that posting on DU. Then we can chat again, as I do have access to my logs... and I do know (to be fair often, but not always with total certainty) who is watching. They (the folks watching) were sloppy under Bush... they have improved.


... and the phone companies are not part of the government.... Indeed......


Here is a Wired article to peruse: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/10/att-doj-foia/


Now after that read.... whether one likes it or not.... parsing words will not change what is taking place as I type these words....


Everything... is being tracked, and archived..... e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.......

[webDude]

15. SOS! and that's not "Save Our Ship".

[saras]

18. If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with bullshit

Makes me want a Firefox plugin that randomly browses questionable sites when I'm not using my computer.

Not that I don't do enough of that already - instead of watching mass media I type random words into Google. You're guaranteed to learn something new every day. You just never knew you wanted to learn something about THAT.

For example, I just googled the title of this post, only to find that someone here on DU asked who first said it, back in 2008, and it's on top of google's listings. Surely that means something, but I don't know what.

I also learned that T. S. Eliot composed a ballad, not published in his lifetime, with the refrain "For Christ's sake stick it up your ass." I just know that someday I'll desperately need to know that.

[grahamhgreen]

19. Which means they already are.

[freshwest]

20. They've been saving all our keystrokes and surfing habits forever.

The only concern I have with this 'advertisement' will give them legal consent to do beyond what they've been doing for years.

All they have to do is tell the media to put out a story and then the folks won't object when something outrageous happens. Oh, wait, many outrageous things have already happened.

And just to make you go even more crazy, those who get other people killed are never punished, anyway.

Never mind...


:crazy:

[Swagman]

21. they will say it's to stop kiddie porn..another Trojan Horse to bring in restrictive rules

as if these people could give a flying f**k about kids.

[Catherina]

22. Is it a police state yet? n/t

[lunatica]

23. This type of development is inevitable since it's already the case anyway

It comes with the advancements of the tools we use to communicate. Every computer has an IT address which is better than a fingerprint in a crime scene. It's more like DNA evidence. This isn't a new development.

When they track my computer activity they're going to find an inordinate amount of visits to DU.

[No Elephants]

29. Please see Reply 28. Phone companies tracked our calls for years, so they could charge us, but

government (and others) still needed a warrant to get the info.

Entity (phone service provider) not bound by the Constitution and therefore not liable for violating our civil rights versus federal government, which is bound by the Constitution and therefore liable for violating our civil rights.

Making me pay for what I use vs. gathering evidence to put me in jail.

[snooper2]

32. FYI, using the word "needed" is incorrect

The STILL need a warrant to gather information...95+% of the warrants are seeking basic information, like calling/called party, date, time. (CI calling information)

More rare is when they have a higher level content warrant, where the actual media is collected. (media being the conversation between the two parties)



Now you know

[snooper2]

31. what's an IT address?

[lunatica]

40. I was referring to each computer's address which is trackable

[snooper2]

41. That would be a MAC address

IP's change all the time :)

[lunatica]

42. Thanks for the correction

[Solly Mack]

24. "keep the public safe" & "national security"

or Excuses used to violate civil/human rights to justify crimes like torture, spying, invasions, occupations, extraordinary renditions and so on and so forth...all in "good faith", of course.

[No Elephants]

30. Terra! Terra! Terra! Thanks, new boss!

[truebrit71]

34. Love that "change" we're seeing...

...

[guruoo]

35. And hackers say: 'You've got the network, but

we've got the numbers'
:headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:

[Joanne98]

43. The police state won't stop until we hit it back!