Posted on 12/26/2016 11:55:47 AM PST by Lorianne
Reuters has an interesting piece looking at how many experts are concerned that mass surveillance efforts by the federal government are making a mockery of the 4th Amendment. The focus of the article is on the scan of all Yahoo email that was revealed back in October, but it certainly touches on other programs as well. The concern is easily summarized by Orin Kerr: "A lot of it is unrecognizable from a Fourth Amendment perspective," said Orin Kerr, a former federal prosecutor and Georgetown University Law School expert on surveillance. "It's not where the traditional Fourth Amendment law is." But, have no fear, the General Counsel of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Robert Litt, says there's a reason for that, and it's all technology's fault. We've covered Litt and his somewhat nutty views on the 4th Amendment and surveillance in the past, so the following isn't new. But Litt's main defense of basically all of the NSA's various abuses and mocking of the 4th Amendment is "it's technology's fault." He's quoted twice in the article, and both times, it's all about the tech. First up, an argument that the traditional 4th Amendment doesn't apply, because technology:
(Excerpt) Read more at techdirt.com ...
The state always over reaches in its efforts to tyrannize its citizens.
Ben Franklin’s wise words still apply
Technology really puts a strain on privacy. It is a subject worth working through. Not so sure I want the courts or the legislature involved.
what we need is much stronger, stricter protection for our rights.....1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, amendments and the rest of our rights too
a whole lot of Americans lost their lives making our Bill of Rights possible
and all its taken is an illegal alien president writing a bunch of Executive Orders and appointing socialist/statist/nazi-type/tyranny-enabling judges...... to undermine so much of our liberty
Just because it has become infinitely easier to violate the law does not change the fact that it is a violation of the law.
A Constitutional Amendment might, conceivably, make the 4th amendment outdated. Otherwise ... no.
Top US Surveillance Lawyer Argues That New Technology Makes The 4th Amendment Outdated, Ah no it steps on it..
Ding ding ding. Winner!
Fixed it.
“Just because it has become infinitely easier to violate the law does not change the fact that it is a violation of the law.”
That is right. Nothing has changed about the law except that some people who don’t like the law might need it to be more sharply defined for today’s technology.
Exactly
Complete BS from Mr. "it's technology's fault." NO.
It is the fault of the person using the technology.
Scanning email without the permission of the sender or recipient is no different than bugging a phone of intercepting hard-copy mail.
It is absolutely NOT people "willingly sharing information on Facebook."
But considering the little government worm's twisted "logic" in a failed attempt to justify government sticking their nose further into American citizens private lives I am not surprised.
Again...
"Computerized scanning of communications in the same way that your email service provider scans looking for viruses - that should not be considered a search requiring a warrant for Fourth Amendment purposes," said Litt.
Load of crap.
And the gov can "share" that opinion from me all they like.
.
Why not just scrap the whole Bill of Rights since it was written by a bunch of racis’ slave owners way back and isn’t relative any longer? Uh, no, that ain’t how it works.
New technology makes the 4th Amendment more important than ever.
Communications within the United States requires a search warrant to examine.
The above is not negotiable, not waived away by technology or will, and is simply stating our natural rights which we went back and then shackled our government into observing. The 4th is merely an expression of that natural right, not the creation of it.
It would be best if our employees in the government fully understood this most basic concept. Otherwise, I see no other future where natural rights are once again restored.
Silence is acceptance. It is Congress that should be all over this. Withhold funding or threaten to cut off funding to agencies or tools of the agencies that spy on Americans w/o probable cause warrants. The FISA court should be eliminated. It is as anti-American as the IRS.
A perfect example is Stingray, a cell phone spoofing device that has been out for several years. It has a multitude of modes and functions, including pulling position data, reading phones, blocking calls, etc. If somebody dumped one of them on my desk, the first thing I would do is contact my general counsel or the local AUSA and ask for guidance. I have no interest in losing a case and becoming part of any landmark legal decisions.
Instead of making the 4th Amendment obsolete, this tech makes the 4th amendment more important than ever. Starting with the US Attorneys, the government needs to set the tone for the protection of rights.
Learn this then go away!
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
I think we probably capture all the calls of the British and maybe some other countries and they capture all US calls. Then we exchange the sorted data to get around the prohibitions on spying on US citizens.
Freegards
I would like to see President Trump make a stand for civil rights, including privacy. It's not my top priority for him, but it would be the right thing to do.
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