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March 13, 2004 8:51 AM   Subscribe

The DOJ wants to tap your IMs, your email, your VOIP calls, and your Web browsing -- and they want you to pay for it. The Justice Department is seeking to expand its ability to monitor online traffic by forcing broadband providers to make their services "wiretap-friendly," and a petition filed with the FCC this week says you will foot the bill. Get ready for CALEA 2.0. "As a means of espionage, writs of assistance and general warrants are but puny instruments of tyranny and oppression when compared with wire tapping," the prescient Justice Brandeis observed in 1928.
posted by digaman (14 comments total)
 
screw that! I'm moving to china, where at least I know I'm free.
posted by mcsweetie at 8:52 AM on March 13, 2004


The Guardian is the best paper in the USA.
posted by jpoulos at 9:16 AM on March 13, 2004


Yeah, well if you're not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to be afraid of right? Right? Hello.....
posted by damnitkage at 9:45 AM on March 13, 2004


jpoulos, for once it's not just the Guardian. It's an AP wire story. But yes.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:35 AM on March 13, 2004


Encrypt early, encrypt often. It's difficult to make a paternal "law and order" type of government comprehend the ramifications of this stuff, and while I appreciate and support the efforts of EPIC and EFF to combat bad legislature on the legal front, I have my doubts about that as an avenue for success. Now is a good time to start encrypting the crap out of everything you touch.
posted by majick at 11:00 AM on March 13, 2004


"Yeah, well if you're not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to be afraid of right? Right? Hello....."

That ain't necessarily so.

The Jews weren't doing anything wrong when they were living the police state of Nazi Germany. That still didn't prevent them from getting exterminated by railcarloads.

Bottom line: When those in power start making such overt and gleeful grabs for the tools of tyranny, I get nervous.
posted by geekhorde at 11:50 AM on March 13, 2004


well put geekhorde.
posted by dabitch at 12:08 PM on March 13, 2004


sarcasm. sorry.
posted by damnitkage at 12:42 PM on March 13, 2004


Packing my bags and looking for a place to move...
posted by Beansidhe at 12:50 PM on March 13, 2004


The DOJ wants to tap your IMs, your email, your VOIP calls, and your Web browsing -- and they want you to pay for it.

As a matter of course, I've just been assuming this has already been happening all along. Occasionally I mention fertilizer and rocket fuel in the same e-mail, just to get my money's worth and make sure someone is keeping busy out there.

Sure, I would resent paying for it. But with the insane volume of e-communication going on constantly, isn't the real question, Why would anyone pay attention to me? I mean, they must filter the filters of filters of filtered filtered messages to near before a human looks at any single message. There's just no way they could pay enough staff to look at anything but a tiny percent of the infinite noise/signal happening out there.

That's my philosophy, anyway. Assume the worst from the bastards, but reckon no one gives a flyin' one about me. It pisses me off, but being pissed off is a near constant state, isn't it?
posted by Shane at 1:40 PM on March 13, 2004




The Jews weren't doing anything wrong when they were living the police state of Nazi Germany. That still didn't prevent them from getting exterminated by railcarloads.

Better not tell that to the Gibson family.

Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. What we have is a social war on our hands, one between libertarian and freedom-loving people, against the regime of fundamentalism, where we are watched because someone feels like watching, and charges us for the privilege.

Yeah, the phrase 'American Taliban' has been thrown around MeFi lately, but isn't that what we are dealing with? An administration in the pockets of fundamentalists, tracking every sinner and every sin, and purifying this country to their "good christian needs". I'm sure the Lord Jesus Christ would be terribly pleased right now.
posted by benjh at 3:00 PM on March 13, 2004


Better not tell that to the Gibson family.

You're fucking nuts dude.
posted by Satapher at 7:03 PM on March 13, 2004


"sarcasm. sorry." - damnitkage

My bad. I didn't get the sarcasm.

Man, text can be so unnuanced compared to speech.
posted by geekhorde at 12:10 AM on March 14, 2004


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