Technocracy

Cops to Congress: We need logs of Americans’ text messages

"AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and other wireless providers would be required to record and store information about Americans' private text messages for at least two years, according to a proposal that police have submitted to the U.S. Congress. CNET has learned a constellation of law enforcement groups has asked the U.S. Senate to require that wireless companies retain that information, warning that the lack of a current federal requirement 'can hinder law enforcement investigations.'" Continue reading →

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Social Security data of 13,000 health care workers mistakenly posted online for 9 days

"About 13,000 California home healthcare workers had their Social Security numbers exposed online for nine days after being mistakenly posted on a website for Medi-Cal, KCRA-TV reported on Tuesday. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHS) confirmed that the leak happened last month, the second security problem involving health care workers in the past five months, before the information was removed from public view." Continue reading →

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Baltimore man gets speed camera ticket for going 0 MPH

"The City of Baltimore recently issued a ticket to Daniel Doty for speeding 38 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone — but photos and video captured by the speed camera system showed that his car was stopped at a red light at the time. Xerox State and Local Solutions, which is the contractor for Baltimore’s speed and red light cameras, said that each citation went through a two-step review to verify its accuracy, including an officer who must swear that the vehicle was going at least 12 MPH over the posted speed limit. Police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi would not reveal which officer reviewed Doty’s ticket." Continue reading →

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Black boxes in cars raise privacy concerns

"Many motorists don't know it, but it's likely that every time they get behind the wheel, there's a snitch along for the ride. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday proposed long-delayed regulations requiring auto manufacturers to include event data recorders—better known as 'black boxes'—in all new cars and light trucks beginning Sept. 1, 2014. But the agency is behind the curve. Automakers have been quietly tucking the devices, which automatically record the actions of drivers and the responses of their vehicles in a continuous information loop, into most new cars for years." Continue reading →

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Slowing down the surveillance state: a guide to warrantless government spying

"If the growing use of governmental tip-toeing to wiretap phone lines and emails doesn’t seem serious, think again. So heightened lately are concerns over surveillance that two major organizations have published a primer on federal spy programs. Both ProPublica and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have released thorough guides this week that explore what the US government can and can’t do in terms of tracking US citizens using an array of weirdly-worded wiretap laws currently on the books." Continue reading →

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Public buses being outfitted with sophisticated audio surveillance across U.S.

"In cities across the United States, government officials are installing sophisticated audio surveillance equipment on public buses. Documents obtained by The Daily indicated that at least seven cities throughout the United States were installing surveillance systems capable of capturing riders’ conversations in addition to the video already being captured by existing systems. While transit agencies say that the system is intended to enhance saftey and resolve passenger complaints, experts have warned that the technology could easily be misused." Continue reading →

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Americans Are The Most Spied On People In World History

"In a radio interview, Wall Street Journal reporter Julia Angwin (who’s been one of the best at covering the surveillance state in the US) made a simple observation that puts much of this into context: the US surveillance regime has more data on the average American than the Stasi ever did on East Germans. The American government is collecting and storing virtually every phone call, purchases, email, text message, internet searches, social media communications, health information, employment history, travel and student records, and virtually all other information of every American." Continue reading →

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Forced sterilization victims still seek justice in US

"Denied the chance of a baby - a decades long program of forced sterilization in America, left tens of thousands of women unable to have children. Once promoted as a way to build a healthy nation, its only recently that the traumatized victims of a eugenics programme, are being considered for compensation. RT's Marina Portnaya went to meet one of those who were left traumatised, by compulsory birth control." Continue reading →

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Pentagon to expand intelligence gathering to rival CIA

"The Pentagon, in a major expansion of its intelligence gathering activities, plans to assemble an espionage network rivaling the Central Intelligence Agency in size. Citing unnamed US officials, the Washington Post said that as part of the project, US military officials will send hundreds of additional spies overseas. They also plan to overhaul the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) which has focused primarily during the past decade on activities related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When the expansion is complete, the DIA is expected to have as many as 1,600 intelligence 'collectors' around the world." Continue reading →

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UK tax hitmen to track your spending

"Credit reference agencies will cross-check details of the income people declare on their tax returns against their spending patterns to identify 'high' and 'medium' risks of both illegal and legal tax avoidance. About two million people are expected to be scrutinised under the programme, which may lead to privacy concerns. Treasury sources said that 'hundreds of millions' are expected to be raised from the greater use of third-party data, such as that supplied by credit reference agencies. Information will also be routinely shared between the British and American authorities." Continue reading →

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