The Vermont Public Service Board has dropped its investigation into whether AT&T and Verizon shared Vermont residents’ telephone calling records with the National Security Agency (NSA). The Board said it was dropping the probe in light of the fact that the FISA Amendments Act passed in 2008 by Congress gave the companies immunity against any…
Category: Surveillance
Portsmouth wiretap bugs city workers
The Portsmouth Police Department doesn’t deny it placed a recording device in its records room – without proper notification – to eavesdrop on its clerks. It’s just that neither the police nor County Attorney Jim Reams believe any laws were broken. But the more we think about the official explanation for these improper recordings the…
German politicians protest EU plan to share bank data
German politicians and government officials have reacted angrily to a plan by the European Commission to renew an agreement with the United States, which gives anti-terror officials’ the ability to scrutinize the banking activities of European citizens. The oversight occurs through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Transactions or SWIFT, which handles millions of transactions…
Barwatch: Privacy ruling a risk to public safety
A ruling by B.C.’s privacy commissioner that an identity-scanning technology used by dozens of bars and clubs in the province violates privacy laws may put public safety in jeopardy, the chairman of Vancouver Barwatch said Friday. “Our fear is that his ruling has put Barwatch out of business, and that every gangster and every nutbar…