Posted on 05/07/2014 3:52:27 AM PDT by Moseley
Oops, your metadata is showing. Is the Government violating your Constitutional rights by intercepting your “metadata” without a warrant? The Government is collecting information about your phone calls, text messages, and email messages -- indiscriminately. Metadata is transmission and billing information about whom you called, from what phone number, when, and for how long. This can include your location, because billing records note which cell tower your mobile phone is connecting through.
George Orwell’s book 1984 was meant as a warning. But it is shocking how many people view 1984 as a “how to” manual or blueprint for expanding their power and influence over the country. The book projects into the future how society has been heading towards a totalitarian society governed by pervasive government surveillance.
The National Security Agency (NSA) was hit with a preliminary injunction on December 16, 2013, against snooping on U.S. citizens without a warrant. Public policy lawyer Larry Klayman won the ruling from Federal Judge Richard J. Leon that NSA surveillance without a warrant particular to the individual violates the U.S. Constitution.
Judge Leon explained in his 68-page opinion: "I cannot imagine a more 'indiscriminate' and 'arbitrary invasion' than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval."
Larry Klayman has amended his lawsuit against the NSA and has now filed a motion to certify the amended lawsuit (“Klayman III”) as a class action. The class would be the largest class action in history, with possibly a hundred million U.S. citizens who are users of communication technology indiscriminately spied on by the NSA.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
It’s like this: In 1775, British soldiers break down your door, ransack your house, and examine all of your papers. They write down who sent you letters with addresses and information about whom you communicated with, and how often. But they don’t take the actual content of your letters and papers. So would that be okay as long as they don’t actually read the body of your letters?
Of course it would not be okay. Our modern police and consumer advocates warn us about how much thieves can learn simply because newspapers pile up outside the door while we are on vacation. One could tell a tremendous amount about you from knowing whom you write to, who writes to you, how frequently, and what other papers you have, about what.
Even in the 1775 world of mere paper such metadata would have been a major invasion of privacy. The same police who remind us that thieves know when to break in to our houses by watching from the outside also argue in court that they can collect information about your communications without a warrant.
The NSA has been creating maps of American citizens' social networks
Why do they want to do that?
What could social networks be used for in the hands of government? Consider:
Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere
How will such capabilities be used now?
How They Hunt
Is it already too late?...
The NSA has been creating maps of American citizens' social networks
Why do they want to do that?
What could social networks be used for in the hands of government? Consider:
Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere
How will such capabilities be used now?
How They Hunt
Is it already too late?...
Could such data be used to suppress political opposition? /sarcasm alert
Minor pet peeve of mine on this subject. The information indicated is data, not metadata.
Metadata is data about data. An example would be that a phone number (data) is ten numeric characters (metadata).
I willl read your links later
Waiting for the ACLU to get involved. Waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting . . .
Well, they have at least sued the NSA a few times.
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