Posts Tagged eff

9/11 Completely Changed Surveillance in U.S.

From: Wired

Former AT&T engineer Mark Klein handed a sheaf of papers in January 2006 to lawyers at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, providing smoking-gun evidence that the National Security Agency, with the cooperation of AT&T, was illegally sucking up American citizens’ internet usage and funneling it into a database.

The documents became the heart of civil liberties lawsuits against the government and AT&T. But Congress, including then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), voted in July 2008 to override the rights of American citizens to petition for a redress of grievances.

Congress passed a law that absolved AT&T of any legal liability for cooperating with the warrantless spying. The bill, signed quickly into law by President George W. Bush, also largely legalized the government’s secret domestic-wiretapping program.

Obama pledged to revisit and roll back those increased powers if he became president. But, he did not.

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EFF Demands Answers About Secret Surveillance Law Memo

From: EFF

EFF Demands Answers About Secret Surveillance Law Memo

EFF has filed a Freedom of Information Act suit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), demanding the release of a secret legal memo used to justify FBI access to Americans’ telephone records without any legal process or oversight. This suit stems from a report released last year by the DOJ’s own Inspector General that revealed how the FBI had come up with a new legal argument to justify secret, unchecked access to private telephone records. According to the report, the DOJ’s Office of the Legal Counsel had issued a legal opinion agreeing with the FBI’s theory. EFF’s lawsuit is seeking that legal opinion, which is a crucial piece of the puzzle in understanding the government’s efforts to expand and overreach their surveillance powers.

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Electronic Frontier Foundation Needs Your Support!

Dear Friend of Digital Freedom,

In 1990, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) took an unprecedented stand for technology users’ civil liberties by suing the Secret Service for seizing and damaging Steve Jackson Games’ computers. Twenty years later, EFF remains passionately engaged in protecting civil liberties at the forefront of technology. In 2010, EFF rose to meet new challenges and secured new freedoms for users everywhere.

In 2010:

Innovation

EFF won the exemption that made it legal to “jailbreak” smartphones to unlock their full potential;

Transparency

EFF taught users how to take control of their privacy on social networks;

Fair Use

EFF made it possible – for the first time in history – for artists and educators to excerpt from DVDs without fear of breaking the law;

Free Speech

EFF defended political bloggers and peer-to-peer users from copyright “trolls” bullying them into bogus legal settlements;

Privacy

EFF conducted groundbreaking research on privacy and security, and used the findings to lobby for improved user protections; and

Free Speech icon

EFF collaborated with local groups throughout the world to advance privacy and free expression through technology.

These victories were only possible thanks to donations from individuals like you. Charity Navigator, a leading evaluator of non-profit efficiency, has given EFF its highest rating — we make each and every contribution count in the fight for freedom on the electronic frontier.

Choose to support digital freedom and secure your civil liberties today with a year-end gift to EFF.

Donate Today!

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