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They simply don't get it: I DO NOT BELIEVE THE US GOVERNMENT HAS ANY RIGHT TO VIEW MY DATA THAT I ENTRIST TO PRIVATE COMPANIES. In the event they somehow have s

They simply don't get it: I DO NOT BELIEVE THE US GOVERNMENT HAS ANY RIGHT TO VIEW MY DATA THAT I ENTRIST TO PRIVATE COMPANIES. In the event they somehow have stumbled upon the right, I should be notified that my data has been examined.

necubi 13y ago
That's great, but it's not the law. If you would like it to be the law, work on repealing the Patriot Act and rolling back the worst abuses of the post-9/11 surveillance state. Or donate to the EFF and ACLU, who have been raising alarm about these laws for over a decade. But don't blame the companies involved. They're following the law, as laid down by duly-elected representatives. The alternative is that their executives go to jail for contempt of court.
- mtgx 13y ago
  Well EFF have already discovered that the law has been declared unconstitutional, but the administration is keeping it secret. What now?
- richcollins 13y ago
  The companies are people. You should always blame people that engage in activities they know to be unethical. Why should they get a pass?
dm2 13y ago
How can you trust the US government less than private companies? Data mining exists at every company because of its value. I'm much more concerned that private companies (Lexis Nexis I'm looking at you) have access to so much of my data and have no obligation to inform me of what data they have. The US government exists to protect the United States and its citizens. If we put left vs right politics aside, why is there inherit distrust of the government? What would make you trust them? More transparency? If anybody is to blame it is congress. As elected representatives, they should have ultimate responsibility as to what happens in this country. They should also be held liable for ALL of their actions, but good luck getting them to approve that. How can congress enact laws that only affect themselves or give them more power? That is corruption and should be considered treason.
- mtgx 13y ago
  Because clearly the US government is doing much worse stuff than the private companies right now. And when someone discovers it, they try to put him in jail. I don't know about you, but that scares me more than if I found out the private company sold my info.
- protomyth 13y ago
  > How can you trust the US government less than private companies? The US government can throw me in jail, private companies cannot. The US government can sick the IRS, FBI, and Secret Service after me; private companies cannot. Congress has a lot of the liability, but so does the President. Read up on FDR's use of the IRS and what happened to the various Tea Party groups in 2010 with 501(c)4 status[1]. This is why the expansion of federal government reach is feared. 1) someone will argue about the nature of 501(c)4 so just remember that Obama's reelection campaign relaunched as one to advocate for his political agenda for his 2nd term.
  - dm2 13y ago
    What is your point about the Tea Party groups and 501(c)4? In my opinion, that is just another loophole that needs to be closed, same as religious organization tax exemption.
    - protomyth 13y ago
      One side was treated different than the other. Pure and simple failure to follow the rules. When government agencies don't follow the rules and treat all as equals then we have problems. Clearly having a 501(c)4 with a political bent isn't the problem or else Obama's reelection campaign relaunch would have seen the same scrutiny and rejection. > In my opinion, that is just another loophole that needs to be closed, same as religious organization tax exemption Regardless of your wish to close loopholes, the current law needs to be followed: equally and fairly. Going back to how taxes should work is a side trail and not relevant to how the government has acted against different parties.
  - dclowd9901 13y ago
mtgx 13y ago
A warrant canary service would be nice, by Google and others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_canary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_canary
- jlgreco 13y ago
  Maybe once upon a time they had one, but it was dead before anyone learned about it..
- dclowd9901 13y ago
  Sounds like something a smartass hacker would come up with. There's no way that would fly in court.

necubi 13y ago

That's great, but it's not the law. If you would like it to be the law, work on repealing the Patriot Act and rolling back the worst abuses of the post-9/11 surveillance state. Or donate to the EFF and ACLU, who have been raising alarm about these laws for over a decade. But don't blame the companies involved. They're following the law, as laid down by duly-elected representatives. The alternative is that their executives go to jail for contempt of court.

mtgx 13y ago
Well EFF have already discovered that the law has been declared unconstitutional, but the administration is keeping it secret. What now?
richcollins 13y ago
The companies are people. You should always blame people that engage in activities they know to be unethical. Why should they get a pass?

dm2 13y ago

How can you trust the US government less than private companies? Data mining exists at every company because of its value. I'm much more concerned that private companies (Lexis Nexis I'm looking at you) have access to so much of my data and have no obligation to inform me of what data they have. The US government exists to protect the United States and its citizens. If we put left vs right politics aside, why is there inherit distrust of the government? What would make you trust them? More transparency? If anybody is to blame it is congress. As elected representatives, they should have ultimate responsibility as to what happens in this country. They should also be held liable for ALL of their actions, but good luck getting them to approve that. How can congress enact laws that only affect themselves or give them more power? That is corruption and should be considered treason.

mtgx 13y ago
Because clearly the US government is doing much worse stuff than the private companies right now. And when someone discovers it, they try to put him in jail. I don't know about you, but that scares me more than if I found out the private company sold my info.
protomyth 13y ago
> How can you trust the US government less than private companies? The US government can throw me in jail, private companies cannot. The US government can sick the IRS, FBI, and Secret Service after me; private companies cannot. Congress has a lot of the liability, but so does the President. Read up on FDR's use of the IRS and what happened to the various Tea Party groups in 2010 with 501(c)4 status[1]. This is why the expansion of federal government reach is feared. 1) someone will argue about the nature of 501(c)4 so just remember that Obama's reelection campaign relaunched as one to advocate for his political agenda for his 2nd term.
- dm2 13y ago
  What is your point about the Tea Party groups and 501(c)4? In my opinion, that is just another loophole that needs to be closed, same as religious organization tax exemption.
  - protomyth 13y ago
    One side was treated different than the other. Pure and simple failure to follow the rules. When government agencies don't follow the rules and treat all as equals then we have problems. Clearly having a 501(c)4 with a political bent isn't the problem or else Obama's reelection campaign relaunch would have seen the same scrutiny and rejection. > In my opinion, that is just another loophole that needs to be closed, same as religious organization tax exemption Regardless of your wish to close loopholes, the current law needs to be followed: equally and fairly. Going back to how taxes should work is a side trail and not relevant to how the government has acted against different parties.
- dclowd9901 13y ago

mtgx 13y ago

A warrant canary service would be nice, by Google and others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_canary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrant_canary

jlgreco 13y ago
Maybe once upon a time they had one, but it was dead before anyone learned about it..
dclowd9901 13y ago
Sounds like something a smartass hacker would come up with. There's no way that would fly in court.