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ACLU warns bill would gut video privacy law
The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday expressed its concern with proposed changes to the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA), which would allow companies to gain perpetual consent to sharing their customers’ video rental records.
At a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law hearing on Tuesday lawmakers debated changes to the law, which requires companies to ask for consent every time they disclose records.
Netflix and other Internet-based companies would like to see the law changed so that they could share their customers’ rental history with social media sites and other third-parties.
But the ACLU said in a letter (PDF) that changing the law would Read more…
Spying on U.S Citizens — Uncle Sam turns his multi-billion dollar espionage network on U.S Citizens
Alexander Higgins, Contributing Writer
Activist Post
A series of previously classified documents obtained by The Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy reveals that spy operation against U.S citizens here in the homeland have spiked massively over the last year and so has the government’s cost to cover up their plethora of illegal activities.
But first a little background to explain how America has arrived to this point in the first place.
The Executive Branch of the US Government has found a loophole in the legal system that has effectively abolished the Constitution by allowing our entire bill of rights to be suspended at will. This probably best explains it: Read more…
Cops Use Mobile Scanner To Steal Cellphone Data From Innocent Americans
Americans are living in a predatory police state, then this story completely eviscerates it. Michigan state police have been using a handheld mobile forensics device to steal information from cell phones belonging to motorists stopped for minor traffic violations.
Thermal Cameras Look Inside Homes to Monitor Energy Efficiency
Aaron Dykes
Infowars.com
April 11, 2011
The city of Boston has been taken to task by the ACLU over concerns about a roll-out of thermal imaging cameras being used to monitor energy efficiency inside homes. A pilot program to take aerial and street-level photos of heat loss in Boston was part of a scheme to encourage participation in home energy improvement programs, as well as to drive consumers towards green companies.
According to CBS, the project had been halted following public outcry about invasions of privacy, namely that “infrared cameras would reveal information about what’s going on inside the homes.” Further objections have been raised about potential violations of the Fourth Amendment (but what’s that anyway?). Officials reportedly “planned on sharing the photos and analysis with homeowners, and were hoping the findings would increase enrollment in efficiency programs and also create business opportunities.”
MIT, who helped develop the technology’s use for energy tracking, has already thermally-mapped the entire city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Their press writers brag that automated cameras attached to vehicles would collect data “similar to the way Google Street View vehicles obtain visual imagery.” This 55 second video provides a glimpse at their system: Read more…
Homeland Security Says It Has Every Right To Spy On Peaceful Protest Groups
What First Amendment?
Steve Watson
Infowars.com
March 8, 2011
The Department Of Homeland Security has concluded that it is perfectly reasonable for it to spy on dozens of peaceful advocacy groups and monitor scores of lawful protests and political rallies in the name of national security.
The ACLU details the DHS’ response to a complaint the group filed with the DHS’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (OCRCL).
The ACLU demanded an investigation into whether DHS officials abused their authority by improperly collecting and disseminating information regarding political demonstrations, following revelations that Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service (FPS) had been engaging in such activity dating back to 2006.
The OCRCL has refused to disclose the memorandum detailing its investigative findings, however it sent a letter to the ACLU last week reaffirming that it sees no wrongdoing in the actions whatsoever, while admitting that there was no adequate differentiation between civil activist and violent extremist organizations.
“We strongly disagree with Read more…
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