4 ms·

Wikipedia states that circa.com is a recently acquired property of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, who is known for mandating stations to carry canned editorials

Wikipedia states that circa.com is a recently acquired property of the Sinclair Broadcast Group, who is known for mandating stations to carry canned editorials as news [0]. Google also shows this report as surfacing ~month ago [1]. I agree that what the government did is insane, but this is a pretty poor source. [0]: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/08/527462015/sinclair-broadcast-group-has-deal-to-buy-tribune-medias-tv-stations http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/08/527462015/... [1]: https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=%22I+think+what+this+emphasizes+is+the+shocking+lack+of+oversight+of+these+programs%2C%22&hl=en&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A1%2F1%2F2012%2Ccd_max%3A5%2F1%2F2017&tbm= https://encrypted.google.com/search?q=%22I+think+what+this+e...

ttctciyf 9y ago
emptywheel.net is generally a good source for lawyerly concerns about surveillance. I don't have time to track down if she has anything on circa's issues specifically, but: https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/03/17/ron-wydens-complaints-about-section-702/ https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/03/17/ron-wydens-complaints-... https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/05/03/i-con-the-record-transparency-bingo-4-how-151-million-call-events-can-look-reasonable-but-is-besides-the-point/ https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/05/03/i-con-the-record-trans... https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/05/02/i-con-the-record-transparency-bingo-3-cia-continues-to-hide-its-us-person-network-analysis/ https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/05/02/i-con-the-record-trans... ... etc.
roywiggins 9y ago
I think the article is wrong on the definition of "about data." The definition I read was, "about data" is information that mentions a foreign intelligence target, even if it's sent between two Americans domestically. This was, apparently, perfectly legal to query as long as you were querying a foreign target. The NSA overstepped pretty egregiously and had to shut those queries down. The article say it's data "about" Americans, which is true but confusing.

ttctciyf 9y ago

emptywheel.net is generally a good source for lawyerly concerns about surveillance. I don't have time to track down if she has anything on circa's issues specifically, but: https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/03/17/ron-wydens-complaints-about-section-702/ https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/03/17/ron-wydens-complaints-... https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/05/03/i-con-the-record-transparency-bingo-4-how-151-million-call-events-can-look-reasonable-but-is-besides-the-point/ https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/05/03/i-con-the-record-trans... https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/05/02/i-con-the-record-transparency-bingo-3-cia-continues-to-hide-its-us-person-network-analysis/ https://www.emptywheel.net/2017/05/02/i-con-the-record-trans... ... etc.

roywiggins 9y ago

I think the article is wrong on the definition of "about data." The definition I read was, "about data" is information that mentions a foreign intelligence target, even if it's sent between two Americans domestically. This was, apparently, perfectly legal to query as long as you were querying a foreign target. The NSA overstepped pretty egregiously and had to shut those queries down. The article say it's data "about" Americans, which is true but confusing.