Ryan Gallagher and Peter Maass report: Across the world, people who work as system administrators keep computer networks in order – and this has turned them into unwitting targets of the National Security Agency for simply doing their jobs. According to a secret document provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the agency tracks down the private email…
Category: Govt
US tech giants knew of NSA data collection, agency’s top lawyer insists (update)
This coverage from yesterday’s PCLOB hearing needed to be broken out from other coverage already mentioned on this blog because of its focus on what US tech firms knew. Spencer Ackerman reports: The senior lawyer for the National Security Agency stated unequivocally on Wednesday that US technology companies were fully aware of the surveillance agency’s…
How a Court Secretly Evolved, Extending U.S. Spies’ Reach
Charlie Savage and Laura Poitras report: Ten months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the nation’s surveillance court delivered a ruling that intelligence officials consider a milestone in the secret history of American spying and privacy law. Called the “Raw Take” order — classified docket No. 02-431 — it weakened restrictions on sharing private information about…
FTC Approves Final Order Settling Charges that Aaron’s Inc. Allowed Franchisees to Spy on Consumers via Rental Computers
From the FTC: Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved a final order settling charges thatAaron’s Inc., a national rent-to-own retailer, knowingly played a direct and vital role in its franchisees’ installation and use of software on rental computers that secretly monitored consumers, including taking webcam pictures of them in their…