Focus on Surveillance

One of the unique and best aspects of our society is that it is an open one. However, politicians and law enforcement have called for vastly increased powers of surveillance over American citizens.

HELP STOP ILLEGAL NSA SURVEILLANCE . . . before Congress legalizes it.

“We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the president when it comes to the rights of the Nation’s citizens.”
--Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)

Since taking office, President George W. Bush has acted as if he had a blank check to do as he pleases. Congress has done nothing to contradict Bush’s assumptions. This week Congress is preparing to act on several bills that would effectively legalize warrantless and unconstitutional surveillance of Americans’ communications. Passage of any of this legislation would radically undermine the foundational civil liberties of our democracy. It would allow the executive branch of government to spy on American citizens without having to justify itself to any judge and with minimal or no congressional oversight.

Not only is Congress willing to pass legislation to authorize unconstitutional surveillance, it is prepared to do so with no inquiry or investigation into what the National Security Agency, at the behest of the president, is actually doing.

WE URGE YOU TO SPEAK UP AGAINST THIS MIND-BOGGLING ABDICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

See the full story at <http://privacyactivism.org/Item/229>.

Last updated March 2, 2007 - Link to this article

Action alert! Please act now to stop Senator Specter�s bill to authorize Bush�s illegal wiretapping from being approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

On Friday, August 4, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on sending Senator Spector�s S. 2453 (known as the �Cheney-Specter bill�) to the Senate floor. Rather than hold President Bush accountable under the Fourth Amendment to obtain a warrant, based on probable cause and issued by judge, before tapping the communications of American citizens, Specter�s bill legalizes the program and any other current or future secret spying programs.

Please call members of the Judiciary Committee whether or not ou you are a constituent.

S.2453 will send all cases involving warrantless surveillance to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Only the government may argue before this court; victims of warrantless surveillance may not present their case. Both the court�s proceedings and decisions are secret. It is a black box, to which only the government has access.

Worse still, Specter�s S 2453 goes even further than the USA PATRIOT Act in eviscerating the Fourth Amendment and discarding civil liberties we take for granted:

� The bill authorizes the president to conduct warrantless searches of people�s homes and businesses during a declared state of war,
� It gives the president power to use roving wiretaps without a warrant, and
� It removes protections under the Privacy Act of 1974, to enable the president to conduct data-mining of Americans� private information.
Specter�s bill is an affront to the Constitution. We urge you to call both of your senators today and let them know that you strongly object to S. 2453. You can find the phone numbers at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.

Arlen Specter
CHAIRMAN, PENNSYLVANIA
(202) 224-4254

Orrin G. Hatch
UTAH
(202) 224-5251

Patrick J. Leahy
RANKING DEMOCRATIC MEMBER, VERMONT
(202) 224-4242

Charles E. Grassley
IOWA
(202) 224-3744

Edward M. Kennedy
MASSACHUSETTS
(202) 224-4543

Jon Kyl
ARIZONA
(202) 224-4521

Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
DELAWARE
(202) 224-5042

Mike DeWine
OHIO
(202) 224-2315

Herbert Kohl
WISCONSIN
(202) 224-5653

Jeff Sessions
ALABAMA
(202) 224-4124

Dianne Feinstein
CALIFORNIA
(202) 224-3841

Lindsey Graham
SOUTH CAROLINA
(202) 224-5972

Russell D. Feingold
WISCONSIN
(202) 224-5323

John Cornyn
TEXAS
(202) 224-2934

Charles E. Schumer
NEW YORK
(202) 224-6542

Sam Brownback
KANSAS
(202) 224-6521

Richard J. Durbin
ILLINOIS
(202) 224-2152

Tom Coburn
OKLAHOMA
(202) 224-5754

Last updated August 3, 2006 - Link to this article

Bill of Rights Defense Committee's National Call-In Day

Last December President Bush acknowledged that he had authorized the National Security Agency to spy on Americans' communications shortly after 9/11. Bush claimed he has authority to conduct massive warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens and said he would continue to do so. In fact, his actions violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was passed specifically to establish a process for obtaining warrants for secret surveillance, and Fourth Amendment prohibitions against warrantless search and seizure. Now it is likely that Congress will pass legislation to legalize the NSA's spying, without ever conducting an investigation into what the agency is actually doing.

We ask you to take a few minutes on May 17th, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee's national call-in day, to phone your senators and representatives to let them know you want an investigation of what is going on, not legislation that will nullify FISA and push the Fourth Amendment even further into irrelevance.

Call-in information is here: http://www.bordc.org/callin_060517.php

Last updated May 16, 2006 - Link to this article

PrivacyActivism submits comments against the CDC's proposal to create a massive passenger surveillance database

The Centers for Disease Control has proposed the creation of a massive new database of airline and cruise passengers that is intended to assist in controlling the spread of epidemics. In addition to a name, date of birth, passport number and multiple points of contact information, passengers would also be required to supply the names and contact information of the individuals or group they're traveling with. The CDC and Department of Health and Human Services have already agreed to share the passenger database with the Department of Homeland Security.

Privacy Activism submitted comments on the CDC's proposal that criticize all aspects of the passenger database--its invasiveness, overbreadth, and the likelihood of mission creep that has already occurred with the agreement to share the information with DHS. We also take issue with provisions of the regulations that base passenger quarantine decisions on the judgment of entirely unqualified airline personnel and on the specification of a three-business-day quarantine with no recourse to a hearing or any process by which one can question the imposition of quarantine.

More information is available at <privacyactivism.org/docs/CDC.comments.Final.060130>.

Last updated May 1, 2006 - Link to this article

The Many Faces of the Real ID Act

PrivacyActivism begins a multi-part series on the Real ID Act. The Act won't protect us against terrorism, but it will add layers of bureaucracy, increase the costs in time and money for us to obtain a driver's license.

See the full story at <http://privacyactivism.org/Item/226>.

Last updated May 1, 2006 - Link to this article

How to create a forum to discuss surveillance and the NSA

In December 2005, the New York Times-after holding the story for more than a year-revealed that starting in October 2001, President Bush had ordered the National Security Administration to conduct warrantless searches and seizures of telephone and internet communications of American citizens inside the United States.

Since then, the administration has provided shifting and unconvincingrationalizations for the president's authority to order such searches.

The issues are complex and should be discussed by students, professors, activists, and anyone else who wants to get involved. To help you getstarted, PrivacyActivism has put together an "NSA toolkit" that includes resourcesfor understanding the legal, constitutional and governmental implications of Bush's surveillance and suggestions for how to become active in opposing it.

More information is available at <http://www.privacyactivism.org/docs/nsa-surveillance-forum-toolkit.html>.

Last updated March 30, 2006 - Link to this article

The Report TSA Is Trying to Bury

"Based on the limited test results presented to us, we cannot assess whether even the general goal of evaluating passengers for the risk they represent to aviation security is a realistic or feasible one or how TSA proposes to achieve it. We do not know how much or what kind of personal information the system will collect or how data from various sources will flow through the system. Until TSA answers these questions, it is impossible to evaluate the potential privacy or security impact of the program..."

The SFWG was tasked with evaluating the security and privacy elements of Secure Flight, the current iteration of the TSA's airline passenger screening system, and of submitting a report to the Department of Homeland Security's Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC).

After nine months, based on the limited and dated information it had received, and on the absence of any consistently articulated plan describing the architecture or operating policies of Secure Flight, the SFWG concluded that there was little to say about it from the standpoint of privacy and security.

On September 19, 2005, the SFWG report was submitted to ASAC and was posted on the TSA web site. It was delinked sometime in October, although it remains on the TSA's servers. The rest of the story, including TSA efforts at counter-spin, is summarized by Ryan Singel at Secondary Screening (TSA 'Refreshes' Web Site, Removes Critical Report) and Lauren Gelman at Center for Internet and Society (TSA Censors SecureFlight Working Group Report).

Update: the report appears to have been removed from the TSA's web site, but is still available on a Stanford University server.

More information is available at <http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blogs/gelman/archives/SFWG_Report_September_19_2005_Final_V_1_.4.pdf>.

Last updated February 4, 2006 - Link to this article

Wiretapping the Net

The FBI would like to apply the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to the Internet, meaning that all providers of broadband, Internet voice communications, and instant-messaging services would need to build in backdoors for ease of wiretapping.

As written, CALEA applies only to telephone conversations via land line phones and cell phones.

Currently, the FBI can use their Carnivore software to access email communications and browser habits, but this software is more cumbersome when used to try to access voice communications over the Internet.

More information is available at <http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5193750.html>.

Last updated April 19, 2004 - Link to this article

Surveillance camera walking tours

Next time you're in New York City, consider taking a walking tour of the city with Bill Brown and learn about surveillance cameras.

Surveillance cameras now number around 7,200 in Manhattan. By taking a walking tour you'll learn how to spot surveillance cameras, the different types of cameras used, and the general ubiquitousness of the cameras.

More information is available at <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/17/nyregion/17camera.html>.

Last updated January 19, 2004 - Link to this article

RFIDs in casino chips?

British science magazine New Scientist is reporting that casino chips can now be made that contain RFID (radio frequency identification tags). This will allow casinos to prevent counterfeit chips from being used, as well as allowing them to monitor patrons' gambling habits while at the casino.

If this technology can be transferred to bank notes, counterfeiting of money may be preventable, and of course, retailers will be able to track the spending habits of store patrons.

More information is available at <http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews&storyID=4089750>.

Last updated January 9, 2004 - Link to this article

Gym patrons wary of camera phones

A growing number of gyms are banning the use of cell phones because of the uneasiness of patrons with camera phones. People fear that photos can be taken surreptitiously with the camera phones and then posted almost instantaneously on the Internet. Because cell phones and cell phones with photo-taking capabilities are difficult to distinguish, gyms are moving to ban the use of all phones.

More information is available at <http://news.com.com/2100-1037-5112823.html>.

Last updated December 4, 2003 - Link to this article

RFID Round-Up

Both the Department of Defense (DoD) and Wal-Mart have set 2005 deadlines for suppliers to use RFIDs on pallets, and in the case of the DoD, cases, and parts.

IBM is building a testing facility so that companies can test the accuracy of equipment that uses RFIDs before they are shipped out.

A call for a moratorium on deployment of RFIDs has been endorsed by 30 civil liberties, consumer, and privacy organizations. The moratorium should be in effect until a technology assessment has been done.

More information is available at <http://www.adtmag.com/article.asp?id=8542; http://news.com.com/2100-1006-5109472.html; http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20031118S0004>.

Last updated November 22, 2003 - Link to this article

Showing your ID to buy stamps?

Debate has begun about "intelligent mail", that is, mail that can easily be tracked and recorded. Right now, "intelligent mail" is used by many businesses to track time-sensitive mail. In the future however, the identities of all senders (and therefore all receivers) of mail could be required before the mail would be sent out.

This would mean showing your ID before you can buy stamps, and probably having particular stamps tied to your identity. Whether it would be illegal to share stamps with a friend is anybody's guess.

More information is available at <http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,61140,00.html>.

Last updated November 17, 2003 - Link to this article

Reining in the Patriot Act

The Security and Freedom Ensured Act (S. 1709), legislation being introduced into the Senate, is designed to rein in some of the broad law enforcement powers that were granted via the Patriot Act.

Senators from both the Republican and Democratic parties are concerned that government snooping is undermining civil liberties unneccessarily.

Among the provisions: tighter controls on when law enforcement may secretly enter your home when looking for evidence; tighter controls on roving wiretaps; and more protections for library book records.

More information is available at <http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112981,00.asp>.

Last updated October 20, 2003 - Link to this article

Tracking Bar and Club Patrons

If you go to a bar or club in Vancouver, Canada, be prepared to pose for a picture and have your driver's license "swiped". Your information will then be available to a broad coalition of club and bar owners to make it easier to identify trouble makers. Your information may also be available to the police if they feel they need it.

No mention of what happens if you're blacklisted erroneously.

More information is available at <http://www.canada.com/vancouver/story.asp?id=936FC638-D1F5-4BA0-8E4B-1F4FEADEA16D>.

Last updated October 9, 2003 - Link to this article

ACLU Defends Anonymity on the Net

The ACLU has agreed to help a student quash a subpoena from the RIAA seeking her identity, arguing that the RIAA should first make some kind of showing that the person has violated the law.

The RIAA should be able to go after people who trade files, but they should do it in a way that is fair, says attorney, Christopher Hansen, of the ACLU. "There are lots of reasons why people need anonymity on-line and why it should not be so easy to lose," Hansen explained. "If the recording industry can uncover your identity simply by claiming that a copyright violation has occurred, then the Chinese government can use the same tool to find out the name of a dissident, and a batterer can use it to find out the address of a domestic violence shelter."

More information is available at <http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_id=riaafacesnewbattl1065005296&area=news>.

Last updated October 2, 2003 - Link to this article

Ridding Your Computer of Spyware

The proliferation of spyware (programs that track your movements online, create pop-up ads for you to see, and more) has prompted individuals like Patrick M. Kolla to creat anti-spyware software. His program, "Spybot Search & Destroy" helps individuals to rid themselves of unwanted spyware, and is proving very popular -- about three million downloads a month.

More information is available at < http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106443250463464700,00.html>.

Last updated October 2, 2003 - Link to this article

New cell phones to record conversations

Some cell phone manufacturers are poised to add a feature that would allow phone conversations to be recorded automatically -- raising legal and privacy concerns. Friends, relatives, and others would be able to record all conversations to their cell phone, which could come as an unwelcome surprise to the person on the other end of the line. At the very least, people would need to be notified at the beginning of each phone call that they are being recorded.

More information is available at < http://news.com.com/2100-1039-5070618.html>.

Last updated September 10, 2003 - Link to this article

RIAA tactics questioned by Congress

The general counsel for Verizon testified at a congressional hearing that subpoenas issued by the RIAA with no judge to oversee the process, will result in the inevitable abuse of the system.

Orin Hatch (R-Utah) called for bimonthy updates from the RIAA, Verizon, and other interested parties on the question of whether the subpoena process is being abused and whether there are alternatives.

More information is available at <http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,112398,00.asp>.

Last updated September 10, 2003 - Link to this article

CASPIAN Calls for Worldwide Boycott of Gillette/RFIDs

CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) is calling for a worldwide boycott of Gillette because Gillette has not backed down over an alleged plan by Gillette to track its products using RFID tags. If a Gillette product is removed from a shelf in a store, the RFID tag can tell that the product has been moved. In reponse to the movement, the shopper is photographed. The idea is to limit shoplifting.

Katherine Albrecht of CASPIAN says "We have corroborated evidence that a Gillette 'smart shelf' fitted with radio frequency identification (RFID) devices can sense when packages are removed from a store shelf and, in response, take pictures of consumers handling them. Tracking and photographing consumers without their knowledge and consent is unacceptable."

More information is available at <http://www.sierratimes.com/03/08/12/ar_Privacy_Group_Launches_Worldwide_Boycott_Against_Shaving_Ravor_Corp.htm>.

Last updated August 26, 2003 - Link to this article

Face Recognition cameras a flop in Virginia Beach

After a year of operation the use of face recognition cameras has not not resulted in a single arrest. Even so, police still plan to keep the system up and running. Police say that the cameras act as a deterrent to criminals. However, they also decline to state where the video cameras are located and which are equipped with face recognition software.

More information is available at <http://www.timesdispatch.com/frontpage/MGB5XFFS7JD.html>.

Last updated August 26, 2003 - Link to this article

Hearings set in Senate on RIAA tactics

A senate panel is set to review the tactics currently planned by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to target those who download music from the Internet. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn is concerned that in their zeal to stamp out music piracy, the RIAA will ensnare innocent people who use the same computer. The RIAA has already issued 900 subpoenas.

More information is available at <http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6534355.htm>.

Last updated August 26, 2003 - Link to this article

Cell Phones and Spam

A recent survey conducted by Silicon.com found that 69% of those who responded to the survey had received spam on their cell phones. While spam on cell phones is not expected to be as big a problem as spam in email, it is still perceived to be a greater invasion of privacy. This is because people view their cell phones as more private than their email.

More information is available at <http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-1015595.html>.

Last updated June 16, 2003 - Link to this article

State "Super-DMCAs" threaten privacy

Several states have passed "super-DMCA" laws based on the Federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The "super-DMCAs would prohibit concealing "the existence or place of origin or destination of any telecommunications service."

These laws are have been written so broadly that they could put companies that provide encryption or anonymous web browsing services out of business. Some say the laws could ban firewalls as well, not to mention services like caller ID.

More information is available at <http://www.securityfocus.com/news/3912>.

Last updated April 22, 2003 - Link to this article

Hatch proposes making Patriot Act provisions permanent

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has written a proposal that would repeal the "sunset" provisions of the Patriot Act and make it permanent. Certain aspects of the Patriot Act expire in 2005 unless Congress votes to reauthorize them. Congressional Republicans are considering attaching Hatch's proposal to an upcoming anti-terrorism bill that would make it easier for the government to get secret warrants against individuals who have no known affiliations with terrorist groups.

Source: New York Times (registration required)

More information is available at <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/09/international/worldspecial/09TERR.html>.

Last updated April 11, 2003 - Link to this article

LA Police Officer Uses Database to Snoop on the Stars

A LAPD officer used department computer files to look up confidential information on celebrities (including Sean Penn, Larry King, Cindy Crawford, and O.J.Simpson). The city recently settled a suit brought by the officer's ex-girlfriend for $400,000, alleging the officer planned to sell information to tabloids; the city is assessing whether there is additional potential liability. The officer claims he was simply working on a project of devising a "VIP home locator map", under the supervision of his superiors, who deny such a project existed.

Source: LA Times (registration required)

More information is available at <http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-celebs8apr08,1,1932749.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia>.

Last updated April 15, 2003 - Link to this article

A video surveillance tour of Manhattan

Bill Brown has led weekly video-surveillance tours of New York since 2000, pointing out the locations of police and private cameras. Brown conducts the tours for the New-York based Surveillance Camera Players.

Source: Reuters, via Washington Post

[The Surveillance Camera Players web site is at <http://www.notbored.org/the-scp.html>.]

More information is available at <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55263-2003Apr8.html>.

Last updated April 11, 2003 - Link to this article

Conferences discuss 'privacy vs. security'

Attendees at two Washington, D.C., discussions on Thursday aired various views on whether high-tech "security" programs such as TIA and CAPPS can be reconciled with civil liberties -- and, for that matter, whether they will actually work. Former Virginia governor James Gilmore (head of the National Advisory Committee on Terrorism) questioned the effect on society of some of these technology solutions, noting that even if we gave up individuality, privacy, and anonymity, total security could not be guaranteed. James Woolsey, former directory of the CIA, suggested that U.S. citizens may have to make compromises between civil liberties and security, but also cautioned that lawmakers need to keep an eye on privacy and other rights. Jim Dempsey, executive directory of the Center for Democracy and Technology, questioned whether data-mining approaches will even work.

Source: IDG News Services via Infoworld

More information is available at <http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/03/20/HNprivacy_1.html>.

Last updated March 25, 2003 - Link to this article

Eavesdropping in European Union offices

Bugs have been discovered in the Brussels European Union (EU) offices of Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Austria. The devices were discovered in a routine sweep in late February, but may have been installed as long ago as 1995. No word is available on who may have installed the bugs, described as a "very sophisticated" system beyond the capability of most intelligence services.

Source: Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald

More information is available at <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/20/1047749880381.html>.

Last updated March 25, 2003 - Link to this article

San Francisco Homeless Fingerprinting Plan Limited to 2,500 People

In response to criticism by homeless advocates and a city Supervisor of an earlier plan to require fingerprints of everybody seeking a bed in an emergency shelter, San Francisco city officials have decided to limit the requirement to only the roughly 2,500 homeless people affected by the the new "Care Not Cash" initiative. The biggest fear about the requirement was that it would scare away undocumented immigrants -- while the city did not plan to open the database to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), as a city employee admitted, people were unlikely to trust that this would not occur at some point in the future. The director of the Mission Resource Center remains concerned that everybody will still have to place a finger on the imaging system to determine whether they are part of the database.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

More information is available at <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/03/20/MN251870.DTL>.

Last updated March 24, 2003 - Link to this article

Surveillance technology firm Verint posts record sales

High-tech surveillance firm Verint Systems posted record sales of $42 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. Products include those targeted to the business segment such as the "IntelliFind" system (which picks out conversations in which specific keywords are spoken) and those targeted at law enforcement purposes such as STAR-GATE (marketed to ISPs and telephone companies), which provides wiretapping and internet surveillance. Other companies such as VeriSign and Network Associates are also getting into the government surveillance business, perceived as a growth area.

Source: Security Focus

More information is available at <http://www.securityfocus.com/news/3115>.

Last updated March 20, 2003 - Link to this article

Kapor Resigns from Groove Networks Board

Software executive and civil libertarian Mitch Kapor resigned from the board of Groove Networks after it sold software to the US government apperently for use in the Total Information Awareness project (TIA). Kapor, who earlier founded Lotus Development Corporation (makers of Lotus 1-2-3) and Electronic Frontier Foundation), expressed concerns about TIA, but did not directly relate his departure to the sale.

Source: Reuters

More information is available at <http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2372090>.

Last updated March 17, 2003 - Link to this article

A (not-so) Friendly Note from Your Baggage Screener

After discovering a handwritten note apparently slipped in by a baggage screener, an airline passenger has complained to authorities. The note ("Don't appreciate your anti-US attitude!") was probably in response to a "No Iraq War" sign in his baggage. The Transportation Services Agency (TSA) is looking into the incident, and notes that they do not condone employees making political or personal comments to travelers; however, a TSA spokesperson comments that "It's a leap to say it was a TSA screener."

Source: Seattle Times

More information is available at <http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=tsasign15m&date=20030315>.

Last updated March 17, 2003 - Link to this article

Santa Cruz Libraries Post Patriot Act Warnings

Labraries in Santa Cruz, California, have posted signs warning patrons that the FBI may access the records of what books they've borrow -- and that library personnel are prohibited from telling anybody if this happens. A section of the Patriot Act allows the FBI to obtain warrants for library and bookstore records. Congressman Bernie Sanders (Ind-VT) introduced a bill last week to repeal this clause.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

More information is available at <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/10/MN14634.DTL>.

Last updated March 18, 2003 - Link to this article

Post Office Eavesdropping in Washington State Discontinued

Postmasters in Everett and Marysville, Washington, set up baby monitors to listen into the transactions between clerks and customers. Apparently the postmasters were worried that the clerks were forgetting to ask whether packages contained hazardous materials; however, they never bothered to let the customers know that they were being monitored.

The eavesdropping has now been discontinued.

Source: KOMO

More information is available at <http://www.komotv.com/stories/23341.htm>.

Last updated March 6, 2003 - Link to this article

Biometrics And Airport Security

PrivacyActivism staff counsel Linda Ackerman spoke on biometrics and airport security at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) panel on Personal Security in Washington, D.C., on January 13, 2003.

See the full story at <http://privacyactivism.org/Item/64>.

More information is available at <http://www.privacyactivism.org/Item/65>.

Last updated February 20, 2003 - Link to this article

Sources: Biometrics and Airport Security

The sources for Linda Ackerman's biometrics talk.

See the full story at <http://privacyactivism.org/Item/65>.

More information is available at <http://www.privacyactivism.org/Item/64>.

Last updated February 18, 2003 - Link to this article

GPS Used to Stalk Victims

Global Positioning Devices are beginning to be used by stalkers to track their victims. According to this Wired News story, the alleged stalker placed the GPS device inside the hood of his victim’s car to track her movements.

GPS devices have a number of beneficial uses including use by hikers and drivers, who use them so that they don’t get lost.

Experts who train victims' advocates, law enforcement and prosecutors recommend that you check underneath the hood of your car and look for suspicious-looking parts.

Source: Associated Press via Wired News, February 6, 2003

Last updated March 3, 2003 - Link to this article

PATRIOT Act II?

The Center for Public Integrity posted a draft of the Domestic Security and Enhancement Act (aka PATRIOT Act II). The bill has not yet been introduced into Congress, but gives a good indication of the direction that the drafters of the document would like to move.

Provisions of the document allow government to eliminate more checks and balances on law enforcement, while at the same time diminishing civil liberties.

Source: News Max

See the full story at <http://privacyactivism.org/Item/62>.

Last updated March 3, 2003 - Link to this article

Privacy after 9/11: Presentation from Palo Alto Area Bar Association

Deborah Pierce's talk on Sept. 27 at PAABA covered three topics: the Chase Masterson case, civil liberties issues with CAPPS, and surveillance aspects of the USA Patriot Act.

More information is available at <http://www.privacyactivism.org/docs/paaba.htm>.

Last updated October 8, 2002 - Link to this article

Living With Total Surveillance

Deborah Pierce's Law and Technology column from the September 12 Seattle Press:

Bank deposits and spending patterns scrutinized; a subpoena issued to Planned Parenthood for the names of all women who visited the clinic over the last nine months; police filling a database with names, addresses, and photos of people they believe will commit a crime—we are in the process of creating the surveillance state that George Orwell feared in “1984”. As disturbing as this is, many people don’t even realize that it is happening.

More information is available at <http://www.seattlepress.com/article-9959.html>.

Last updated September 15, 2002 - Link to this article

This week's acronym: CAPPS

May 23, 2002 -- CAPPS, the "Computer Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening" system, profiles airline passengers based on secret criteria in order to identify potential terrorists. A new version is being prototyped (CAPPS2), which dramatically extends the existing screening. Of course, we all want to feel comfortable knowing that when we board a plane that we will make it to our destination safe and sound. Before embracing this proposal, though, it's worth asking some important questions: will it work? What are the consequences to society? Is it constitutional? I tend to believe that there are a number of issues to be resolved before moving ahead.

(by Linda Ackerman)

More information is available at <http://www.seattlepress.com/article-9684.html>.

Last updated September 5, 2002 - Link to this article

CAPPS: Sources

Sources for Linda Ackerman's July 1, 2002, presentation on CAPPS.

See the full story at <http://privacyactivism.org/Item/49>.

More information is available at <http://www.privacyactivism.org/Item/48>.

Last updated September 5, 2002 - Link to this article

Who is watching you?

Feb 14, 2002 -- Cameras everywhere, national ID cards, GPS chips implanted under the skin--the latest sci-fi dystopia novel? No, just the latest newspaper stories. As I read these stories, I think about what kind of a society we are building. What comes to mind is not George Orwell and Big Brother, but Jeremy Bentham and the Panopticon.

Seattle Press article by Deborah Pierce.

More information is available at <http://www.seattlepress.com/article-9464.html>.

Last updated September 5, 2002 - Link to this article

Surveillance and Freedom in the Wake of the WTC Attack

One of the unique and best aspects of our society is that it is an open one. American citizens are often shocked at some of the powers that some repressive societies have over their citizens. Our society is poised to either continue to embrace the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and Bill of Rights, or institute some of the "fixes" enacted by repressive governments. I hope we continue to embrace the former.

Seattle Press article by Deborah Pierce, September 27, 2001

More information is available at <http://www.seattlepress.com/article-9254.html>.

Last updated September 5, 2002 - Link to this article

Maritime Security Regulations 'Unwarranted Invasion of Traveler Privacy'

PrivacyActivism, in coalition with Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and travel writer Edward Hasbrouck, filed comments today strongly opposing interim maritime security regulations as not only threatening workers' and cruise ship passengers' constitutional rights, but failing a simple cost/benefit analysis.

See the full story at <http://privacyactivism.org/Item/161>.

More information is available at <http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/20030731_maritime_id_comments.php>.

Last updated August 12, 2003 - Link to this article