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California to make »fake news« illegal?

By on March 29, 2017 in Big Brother, Censorship, Civil liberties, Democracy, disinformation, Free Information, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Internet, US

From a proposed Californian law:

18320.5. It is unlawful for a person to knowingly and willingly make, publish or circulate on an Internet Web site, or cause to be made, published, or circulated in any writing posted on an Internet Web site, a false or deceptive statement designed to influence the vote on either of the following:

(a) Any issue submitted to voters at an election.

(b) Any candidate for election to public office.

EFF comments…

In other words, it would be illegal to be wrong on the internet if it could impact an election. The bill is unconstitutional under U.S. Supreme Court case law (see our opposition letter for more information on that), and likely to draw immediate and costly lawsuits if it is signed into law.

EFF: California Bill To Ban “Fake News” Would Be Disastrous for Political Speech »

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Your privacy, for sale – part 2

By on March 29, 2017 in Big Brother, Big Data, Data Protection, Internet, Privacy, US

Putting the interests of Internet providers over Internet users, Congress today voted to erase landmark broadband privacy protections. If the bill is signed into law, companies like Cox, Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, and Verizon will have free rein to hijack your searches, sell your data, and hammer you with unwanted advertisements. Worst yet, consumers will now have to pay a privacy tax by relying on VPNs to safeguard their information. That is a poor substitute for legal protections.

EFF: Repealing Broadband Privacy Rules, Congress Sides with the Cable and Telephone Industry »

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Decrypt, or else…

By on March 22, 2017 in Big Brother, Cryptography, IT security, Law enforcement, Privacy, Rule of law, US

Falkvinge:

An appeals court has denied the appeal of a person who is jailed indefinitely for refusing to decrypt files. The man has not been charged with anything, but was ordered to hand over the unencrypted contents on police assertion of what the contents were. When this can result in lifetime imprisonment under “contempt of court”, the United States has effectively outlawed file-level encryption – without even going through Congress.

Falkvinge: With appeals ruling, the United States has effectively outlawed file encryption »

Ars Technica: Man jailed indefinitely for refusing to decrypt hard drives loses appeal »

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Wikileaks to give tech companies heads up

By on March 9, 2017 in Big Brother, Intelligence, Internet, IoT, IT security, surveillance, US, Wikileaks

WikiLeaks will give technology companies access to information it has about the CIA’s hacking tools, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Thursday.

Assange said the organization will give details to let technology companies “develop fixes” before the information is published more widely, USA Today reported.

The Hill: WikiLeaks will give info on CIA hacking to tech companies »

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Wikileaks on CIA / Vault 7

By on March 8, 2017 in Big Brother, Data Protection, IT security, Law enforcement, Privacy, Rule of law, US, War on Terror, Wikileaks

“Year Zero” introduces the scope and direction of the CIA’s global covert hacking program, its malware arsenal and dozens of “zero day” weaponized exploits against a wide range of U.S. and European company products, include Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows and even Samsung TVs, which are turned into covert microphones. (…)

These techniques permit the CIA to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman by hacking the “smart” phones that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic before encryption is applied.

Wikileaks » Vault 7: CIA Hacking Tools Revealed »

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US: No reform of mass surveillance

By on March 6, 2017 in Big Brother, Civil rights, Data Retention, Intelligence, Internet, IT security, Law enforcement, NSA, Privacy, surveillance, US, War on Terror

The Trump administration does not want to reform an internet surveillance law to address privacy concerns, a White House official told Reuters on Wednesday, saying it is needed to protect national security.

• Reuters » White House supports renewal of spy law without reforms: official »
• Techdirt » Trump Administration Wants A Clean Reauthorization For NSA Surveillance »

An anonymous comment at Techdirt: This wouldn’t be the same guy who was screaming bloody murder about Trump towers being under surveillance, would it?

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