Posted on 08/09/2013 7:15:15 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
The highly encrypted email service reportedly used by NSA leaker Edward Snowden has gone offline - and its administrator claims the company is legally barred from explaining why.
On Thursday, the homepage of Lavabit.com was changed to a letter from the company’s owner announcing that the site’s operations have ceased following a six-week long ordeal that has prompted the company to take legal action in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Now in the midst of an escalating fight from the federal government aimed at cracking down on encrypted communications, one of the last free and secure services has thrown in the towel under mysterious circumstances.
“I have been forced to make a difficult decision: to become complicit in crimes against the American people or walk away from nearly ten years of hard work by shutting down Lavabit. After significant soul searching, I have decided to suspend operations,” owner and operator Ladar Levison of Dallas, Texas wrote in the statement. “I wish that I could legally share with you the events that led to my decision. I cannot.”
“I feel you deserve to know what’s going on--the First Amendment is supposed to guarantee me the freedom to speak out in situations like this. Unfortunately, Congress has passed laws that say otherwise,” wrote Levison. “As things currently stand, I cannot share my experiences over the last six weeks, even though I have twice made the appropriate requests.”
(Excerpt) Read more at rt.com ...
THEY CANNOT EVEN EXPLAIN WHY THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN!
THIS IS TRULY ORWELLIAN!
another plane ticket to russia . . .
Police State
Guys like Rand Paul are gonna start doing SOOOOOOOO well at the ballot box thanks to this.
I want to know what law this is.
I could tell you what the law is but I would be arrested.
Remember Comrade ignorance of the law is no defense...
Friggin Marxist bastards claim “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”
How about “When the government fears the people, there is liberty; When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”
“The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”
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This guy didn't want to do that, and so he had to either violate the law or stop doing business.
It seems to me he has decided on the most difficult and commendable path: shutdown his business and fight the law through the courts.
My best hopes and wishes go out to him.
He's not allowed to tell you precisely what law.
Wonder what this means for Reagan.com? Their advertising seems to indicate that they don’t cooperate.
I still don’t “get” how any law can trump the First Amendment.
Must be nice living in the la la land of actually beleiving the potiticians actually belive in following the constitution......
The constitution is only a problem for lawmakers when smeone brings a case to the supremers and only then it is a 50/50 crapshoot it would be turned over due to being unconstitutional...
Assuming guys like Rand Paul aren't arrested beforehand as enemies of the state.
*****Chris Christie approves this message*****
You better generate a new private key. That’s not the part you’re supposed to send out.
Hint: They are deemed a "security risk," and thus all personnel will find themselves in Gulags.
Ok, phew.
The US Constitution is now just a %$#@! damn piece of paper.
Simply, it's just a prop. Frankly, we are at a State of Emergency and a coup has taken place -- only we are pretending otherwise.
United States v. Lopez (93-1260), 514 U.S. 549 (1995), limiting Congressional authority under the Commerce Clause.
Riddle me this: if there is no domestic spying program, then why do the Feds care if we encrypt our emails?
“Security risk” now means a threat to the federal government, not to our nation.
This is the last we will be hearing from him. Hope his family has the good sense to shut up when he decides to Commit Suicide by driving into a tree.
Who? Snowden?
Ladar Levison
He announced what happened and brought attention to action taken against him.
Whatever law it is, it’s unconstitutional and should be disregarded by the citizenry. Enough of waiting for the Supreme Court to do its job, they have already proven they can’t be relied upon. We just need to start disobeying unconstitutional laws, en masse.
The guy has obviously been threatened and coerced.
They can’t.
Crimes against Americans ? Think they mean crimes against the American Government. Which we all know now, contains very few Americans.
Is that what today's script sez? :-)
Most likely, it’s Section 215 of the patriot act.
What script?
I totally agree with that.
The American people should be consulted in some formal way. For example, the congress could bring up a law to specifically reinforce the concept that we are innocent until proven guilty and that therefore no electronic communication can be collected, scanned, or analyzed until after the submission of a valid warrant.
The congress should make it clear to the people that this could allow some terrorists to successfully communicate with each other to conduct a terrorist attack.
The people can then tell their congressmen which way they would prefer they vote.
We will then know if we are a nation of quivering sheep who are OK living in a police state, or if we are still a nation of men and women who are willing to accept the occasional pitfalls of a free and open society.
I vote for tolerating a few terrorist attacks over a tolerating a totalitarian government.
Terrorists at their worst can do far less damage than even an average totalitarian government.
How is allowing the government the power to spy on those who might oppose communism going to in any way reduce the likelihood of a terrorist attack? If anything, it would more likely increase the likelihood of a terrorist attack by keeping out of power those who would actually take action against terrorism.
Thank you.
I like to see Freepers saying this succinctly and clearly. It has not been said enough by us, “the good guys.” We are strong against the world if we are strong internally. We are nothing if we enact our enemy’s exact government against ourselves, as though that will protect us. What would be left to protect?
Sadly there are too many Freepers who have (for the best of reasons, without realizing the problem) advocated the opposite for too long.
Wake up everyone! We need ALL of us bravely involved in defying totalitarianism!
I heard many a freeper use the if you have nothinng to hide... crap when the patriot act was being pushed.
FYI
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