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FWIW: At 911, we were the police, organizationally. Actual sworn cops didn’t have special access to phone companies that dispatchers didn’t— we’d probably be t
by DrewADesign 6mo ago
FWIW: At 911, we were the police, organizationally. Actual sworn cops didn’t have special access to phone companies that dispatchers didn’t— we’d probably be the ones making the request for them if it was that urgent. (In some places dispatchers are cops, but is very uncommon, and the distinction isn’t important in this respect.) Phone companies aren’t going to hire a bunch of specialized workers to comply with legal orders instantly instead of soon enough. And there surely needs to be a ticket made and such… it’s not like CS reps have that info.
The NSA doesn’t need warrants in many cases because they can get the information they need from the government’s own databases. I’m not an expert, but as far as I know, if they need someone’s location from a phone company they do need a warrant or to prove there were exigent circumstances, which is why they just get shit from data brokers. Some politicians want to close that loop hole but most either don’t, or don’t care enough. Some, shockingly, even want to reform FISA.
- whatshisface 6mo agoThe NSA doesn't need warrants because breaking federal law is easier to get away with when you have one of secrecy, some relation to security, presence in the meetings where you'd be discussed, and largeness (which provokes acceptance), and they have all four.
- rdevilla 6mo agoIsrael doesn't need warrants because it's not an American government agency conducting homeland security.
- DrewADesign 6mo agoThose are the forces at play, but you’re just guessing how that manifests itself in the real world. I’ll bet it’s all a lot more bureaucratic than you think it is— secret FISA courts wouldn’t exist if it was just a free-for-all the second it was out of sight. That’s why these agencies buy data from brokers: sidestepping the mechanisms in place to stop them from getting it straight from the source for free.
- whatshisface 6mo agoWe read their internal papers, that was what the Snowen documents were about. No guessing required since 2013. No warrants required since 2002-ish.
- DrewADesign 6mo agoFor mass aggregation of call metadata, all sorts of over-the-wire communication data, etc etc etc… yeah. For on-demand mobile phone location tracking? That’s a different animal.
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