this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2023
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'Eyes Everywhere': Congress Is About to Vote to Expand Mass Surveillance of Americans, Experts Warn::Privacy experts worry that a proposed reform bill would greatly widen how the government can surveil Americans’ digital communications.

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[–] [email protected] 86 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Don't know why they bother, they don't seem to care about what's legal anyway.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Its about pushing boundaries.

If a camera on every street corner is legal, just imagine what they are doing with that data.

Same thing with actionable data. If the goal is to just abduct you in a black helicopter and waterboard you, the law doesn't matter. If the goal is to ruin your reputation and put you and other "enemies of the state" in prison, then you need a legal basis. Otherwise it becomes a huge kerfuffle and you become a martyr.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

With AI and knowledge of everyone, the rich will be able to control us. Some might say they're not controllable, but you are the minority. Mass surveillance and control is what we're heading for. 1984 I might sound like a tinfoil nutjob but it's slowly happening and most don't even notice.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Why bother? We are already on our way to a more Brave New World style dystopia where we actively surrender because of the opioids and orgasm boxes.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (2 children)

They want to be like the CCP.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

But why? What's in it for them?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

More power. That's what it's always been about.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 11 months ago (3 children)

We keep going backwards in regards to digital privacy.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That's been kinda the whole theme of the US lately.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (2 children)

22+ years isn't what I'd consider "lately"

[–] [email protected] 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You might when you’re older

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Holy hell, they said "older," not "antediluvian." 😆

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Far more than that, they were fighting encryption through the 80s and 90s

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Have we ever gone forward?

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It is the mission to make sure Osama bin Laden's long game was successful. He destroyed democracy and freedom exactly like he wanted. Now we have Republican Jihads. He won.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

The terrorists won the moment air travel became a living hell.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago

If you follow the EFF, there are occasionally small victories, but overwhelmingly no.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

What do I look like a shareholder?

[–] [email protected] -3 points 11 months ago

I’ll take “things that boomers don’t understand” for 400, alex.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago

Apparently, as a nation, we're supposed to be surprised that they're trying to pass laws that "let" them do what they've already been doing for decades...

[–] [email protected] 19 points 11 months ago (2 children)

For anyone that still doesn't know, this is already a thing for all US made (owned) hardware. Has been for 15 years+. This is expanding it to everything that would be sold on the market. You know phones are hotspots too... That's right.

You know why the US is so against Huawei? Because they CANT spy on every packet like they can with a Cisco, Juniper, Ruckus, etc switch. And when those start to be installed in scale, it's a problem for the intelligence collection. This is just a small change to make what's already there more palatable in stages. So that in another decade when things become declassified fully and more publisized, Americans don't believe it is an issue.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Indeed, it's useful to China for blackmail, but they'd have a much harder time rolling me up in the US than the US government. And it's likely hardly worth the effort to the extent they might try.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Absolutely. I 100% prefer the Chinese to have all my data. I am a nothing person with no political power so if China wants to surveil me and train datasets with my data, cool. Because the alternative is the US and five eyes having that data and I absolutely do not want that.

Unfortunately it makes you look like the crazy uncle in the tinfoil hat if you try to bring it up. It's so outlandishly crazy like a Hollywood movie people don't believe it's real.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago

I'm sorry, a SWITCH being backdoored when they are 95% not exposed to the internet?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They pulled both bills due to backlash: https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3wkdg/fisa-surveillance-bill-congress-pulled.

Your voices do matter. Don't ever drop your guard. Privacy will be a battle to stay vigilant over forever.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

That's a pretty idealist take in the grand scheme of things. We have hard data that public opinion has virtually no influence on what the law is.

https://act.represent.us/sign/problempoll-fba

If it's something capitalists really want, it'll get put into law. In this case, it's possible they actually don't care to give the government the ability to surveil the public better, so it might be one of the very few things where public backlash could stop it (would actually need data to support this, not just some anecdotes).

Trying to apply this to the broader sociopolitical climate and saying "your voices do matter" is just too reductive. If it's the public vs. the capitalist class in American "democracy", the capitalist class wins every time.

"For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us to temporarily beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. "

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Literally 1984. Since when are the US of A a part of Oceania?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

USA has always been at war with Eastasia.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

No, the USA has always been at war with Eurasia. Oh wait sorry that was yesterday. You are right. The USA has always been at war with Eastasia. What were we talking about again? bb plusgood.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Comrade, I think you misspelled doubleplusgood

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

i always hate these headlines, who the hell are those "experts", same applies to the word "scientists"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

From the actual bill: https://intelligence.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1323

The bill enhances accountability for FBI and other government officials who fail to comply with the laws and rules governing FISA. For example, the bill:

  • Holds FBI executive leaders accountable for FISA non-compliance, including by withholding promotions or compensation.
  • Ensures accountability for FBI employees who conduct noncompliant U.S. person queries, including zero tolerance for willful misconduct and escalating consequences for unintentional non-compliance.
  • Creates new specific criminal liability and administrative penalties and increases existing penalties for government officials who engage in a range of intentional misconduct related to FISA, such as leaking FISA-derived information or making a false declaration before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago

That's not from the bill; that's from a press release.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

escalating consequences for unintentional non-compliance.

Oops! Spied on you. Sooowwwyy. I'll take a paid week off(to think about your nudes).