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Stop Cyber Spying Week – Join EFF in a Week of Action Opposing CISPA

You may have already heard about CISPA, the cybersecurity bill moving quickly through the House that would let companies like Google, Facebook, and AT&T snoop on our communications and hand sensitive user data to the government without a court order. Promoted under the guise of protecting America from cybersecurity attacks, the truth is that this legislation would carve out shockingly large exceptions to the bedrock privacy rights of Internet users. 

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Julian Sanchez: On Fiction and Surveillance At this year’s PEN World Voices Festival, the panel Life in the Panopticon: Thoughts on Freedom in an Era of Pervasive Surveillance explored the role of surveillance technologies in our lives. Here we publish the opening remarks by moderator Julian Sanchez, a Research Fellow at the Cato Institute. In insightful, carefully measured prose, Sanchez identifies the complex interplay between fiction and surveillance today. Photo © Susan Morgan / PEN American Center (via PEN.org » Blog Archive Julian Sanchez: On fiction and surveillance)

Julian Sanchez: On Fiction and Surveillance

At this year’s PEN World Voices Festival, the panel Life in the Panopticon: Thoughts on Freedom in an Era of Pervasive Surveillance explored the role of surveillance technologies in our lives. Here we publish the opening remarks by moderator Julian Sanchez, a Research Fellow at the Cato Institute. In insightful, carefully measured prose, Sanchez identifies the complex interplay between fiction and surveillance today.

Photo © Susan Morgan / PEN American Center

(via PEN.org » Blog Archive Julian Sanchez: On fiction and surveillance)

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Resources for Online Anonymity, Encryption, and Privacy

From the geektivists at Harvard, some great tools for the online change-maker:

“Below we will map out the basics of several options available to users—including proxies, VPNs, and Tor—as well as future emerging technologies like Telex. This is meant to be an introduction to the types of tools that are available, as well as an introduction to the limitations and risks of each. We have not tested all of them, so as always, do your own research before trusting a third party with your data.”

(Source: blogs.law.harvard.edu)

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The appeals court properly recognized that our clients have a reasonable basis to fear that the government may be monitoring their conversations, even though it has no reason to suspect them of having engaged in any unlawful activities. The constitutionality of the government’s surveillance powers can and should be tested in court. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will agree.

Jameel Jaffer, ACLU Deputy Legal Director, on the Supreme Court’s decision to hear a challenge to the broad, sweeping surveillance powers of the FISA Amendments Act. PEN American Center is a partner in this case.

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court Will Hear ACLU Case Challenging Warrantless Wiretapping Law

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The FAA itself estimates that there may be as many as 30,000 drones in the US by the year 2020, and with the loosened restrictions coupled with the Department of Homeland Security and DOJ issuing grants for local police forces to buy drones, it’s imperative that local governments act swiftly to ban surveillance drones outright or institute robust safeguards for their citizens. Americans cannot afford to wait for the FAA or Congress to act.

Trevor Timm, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Local Governments Have the Power to Restrict Drone Surveillance in the US | Electronic Frontier Foundation

(via fictionthatmatters)

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While law enforcement sometimes argues that making members of the public aware that cell phone companies can track them will make it more difficult to catch criminals, it is too late in the day for that argument now that cell phone tracking is a staple of television police procedurals… Why aren’t these policies available on the companies’ websites? With such information, consumers could vote with their wallets and punish those companies that don’t protect privacy. Keeping their customers in the dark about surveillance is better for business, it seems.

Catherine Crump, ACLU on surveillance and business.

Are the police tracking your calls? - CNN.com

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shortformblog: interestingsnippets: (via Do Not Track Is An Opportunity, Not a Threat | John Battelle’s Search Blog)  This is a mockup — for now anyway. But speaking personally, I think it would be fair enough; albeit with the addition of a 3rd option “click to pay (eg: 2$) for a months access to ad-free version” or similar.   First off, to emphasize again: This is a mockup, not real. But it’s rare to see Microsoft ahead of the curve on something like “Do Not Track,” which will be turned on by default on IE10. The solution for sites which could suffer from this type of change is to be upfront about it. Or, you know, to change up their model a little. Either way, let’s not do more stuff like this.

shortformblog:

interestingsnippets:

(via Do Not Track Is An Opportunity, Not a Threat | John Battelle’s Search Blog)  This is a mockup — for now anyway. But speaking personally, I think it would be fair enough; albeit with the addition of a 3rd option “click to pay (eg: 2$) for a months access to ad-free version” or similar.  

First off, to emphasize again: This is a mockup, not real. But it’s rare to see Microsoft ahead of the curve on something like “Do Not Track,” which will be turned on by default on IE10. The solution for sites which could suffer from this type of change is to be upfront about it. Or, you know, to change up their model a little. Either way, let’s not do more stuff like this.

ie10
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do not track
privacy