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Mostly I agree with your comments but this time you missed the most important fact: Levision HAD a choice and could have complied with everything like many othe
by jpdus 12y ago
Mostly I agree with your comments but this time you missed the most important fact: Levision HAD a choice and could have complied with everything like many others have done before - but he did not choose the easy way and instead jeopardized his professional and personal future by shutting down his company and commenting publicly.
Yes, there are good reasons for the authorities to demand personal information of criminals from service providers. But there is no reason at all that secret courts decide about these demands without anyone knowing or having the chance to question the legality and scale of data sniffing.
Ironically, without Snowden we all would have no idea what is going on behind the curtain.
Levison should be lauded for his courage (and despite all technical inaccuracies or open questions about the timeline you brought up)!
PS: I dont understand why this submission is already heavily penalized, this matters for most/all of us.
- tptacek 12y agoApart from everything else in this thread, would it not also be valid to say that Levison had a choice and could have complied with everything as he himself had done in the past? You're not disquieted by a privacy regime that works or doesn't work depending on who you are and how your politics comport with those of the people running the services you use?
- gbhn 12y agoWell, sure, just like the FBI has a choice to use the statute to go after either terrorists or whistleblowers. Justice always relies on human discretion, for better or for worse, but it reflects on us all which cases we call which.
- jpdus 12y agoAs gbhn already mentioned, justice relies ultimately on human discretion. I can't judge about Levisons actions in the past - but this time, he did the right thing. And yes, if I had the choice I would always choose the service which is run by people who respect the law but share my values and views and are ready to fight against questionable orders from authorities on behalf of their users.
- pdabbadabba 12y agoI don't understand. What's the secret? You were able to read the 4th Circuit opinion, weren't you? That has nothing to do with Snowden, that's just normal court procedure.