Spencer Ackerman writes: You may think you understand how the Patriot Act allows the government to spyon its citizens. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) says it’s worse than you’ve heard. Congress is set to reauthorize three controversial provisions of the surveillance law as early as Thursday. But Wyden says that what Congress will renew is a…
Category: Featured News
Dutch researcher downloads 35 million Google Profiles
Bas van den Beld reports: Aren’t they lovely, the new Google Profiles? And you can put so much information in it. Information which everybody can see. And download… We’ve discussed the privacy matters around the profiles before and I will be talking about the presentation I did at SMX about the profiles soon too. But there is a…
Senators hint at DOJ’s secret reinterpretation and use of Section 215 of the Patriot Act
Chris Soghoian writes: According to two Democratic Senators, the Department of Justice has secretly reinterpreted a controversial provision contained in the USA Patriot Act to give the government surveillance powers that are “inconsistent with the public’s understanding of these laws.” The senators also accuse DOJ of misleading the American public when describing the use of…
Rand Paul on the PATRIOT Act
From FourthAmendment.com: From the Rand Paul website, him speaking on the PATRIOT Act extension in the Senate, which has video and a transcript, even invoking James Otis who warned and vigorously litigated against the Writs of Assistance a quarter of millennium ago. Here’s part of the transcript of his statement yesterday, when he rose to vote…