Trevor Timm writes: This morning, Google released their semi-annual transparency report, and once again, it revealed a troubling trend: Internet surveillance around the world continues to rise, with the United States leading the way in demands for user data. Google received over 21,000 requests for data on over 33,000 users in the last six months from governments around…
Category: U.S.
EFF Fights for Passenger Rights in GPS Vehicle Surveillance
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the high court of Massachusetts today to protect the rights of passengers in cars that law enforcement are tracking with GPS surveillance technology, arguing that both the driver and the passenger of a car have legal standing to challenge the collection of sensitive location data gathered by the GPS…
Exposure of files on unsecured wireless no excuse to search, judge rules
Jaikumar Vijayan reports: An individual who inadvertently exposes the contents of his computer over an unsecured wireless network still has a reasonable expectation of privacy against a search of those contents by the police, a federal judge in Oregon ruled last week. The ruling involves John Henry Ahrndt, a previously convicted sex offender who was…
Albuquerque’s Solution for School Safety: Total Surveillance
J.D. Tuccille writes: Rare though they are, horrific events like the Newtown shooting inevitably provoke a variety of responses. The intent is to head off a recurrence of the sort of crime that, truth be told, very likely can’t be completely prevented, if for no other reason than that so many of the perpetrators seemingly…