Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit Discussion
In a time of the spring, old paths are obscured and new growth begins.
Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit DiscussionIn a time of the spring, old paths are obscured and new growth begins.
Northeastern University has revealed that a team of its researchers used people’s cell phones to track their movements without their knowledge and without their permission. 100,000 people were spied upon by the Northeastern University team. That’s illegal for academic researchers to do in the United States, so Northeastern University chose to spy on people outside of the USA, in some foreign country that they refuse to name.
The Associated Press is reporting the story, but only part of the story. “That type of nonconsensual tracking would be illegal in the United States, according to Rob Kenny, a spokesman for the Federal Communications Commission,” the AP writes.
What the AP quotes Rob Kenny as saying is not exactly true. Academics, and other private citizens like you and I cannot legally use cell phone networks to spy on people’s private movements and communications, but the government can.
Thanks to the Patriot Act and the Protect America Act, the American federal government has the power to do the same thing here in the United States that the researchers from Northeastern University did outside of the USA.
The White House can take the information your cell phone beams back to its network, and use that to see where you go and what you do, not just who you talk to with your cell phone. They don’t need a search warrant to do it. They don’t need your permission. They don’t even need to tell you they’re spying on you. No judge approves the spying. No one can stop it.
This kind of spying is a tool of political power.
With this power, the President can track political activists.
The President can eavesdrop on congressional aides.
George W. Bush has the power to spy on Barack Obama’s campaign.
The tricky part is that you can never be sure that you’re being spied on when you’re carrying your cell phone… and you can never be sure that you aren’t being spied on either.
Never being sure if someone from the government is watching where you go, or listening to what you say, you can never be sure that you’re alone.
That kind of environment stifles free speech, free association, and even free thinking.
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June 5th, 2008 at 7:07 am
The fascists are spying on everyone, whether it be through cell phone bugging and GPS tracking, even if the phone is turned off. The only defense is to remove the battery. Also, don’t take your phone with you if you don’t wish to be tracked, because, even if you turn it off, in can be remotely activted without your knowledge, thereby providing a “bug” to listen in on your conversations without your knowledge. The Feds have been doing this for years and are doing it as I write this.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:00 am
jetdrvr, you’re right. Even though it sounds crazy, that ability for the government to activate a cell phone remotely has already been publicly reported - a couple years ago.
It’s insane that our country has gotten to this point. When Barack Obama gets int the White House, it’s going to be very important to make sure this issue does NOT get swept under the rug and forgotten.
June 10th, 2008 at 12:57 am
World of Warcraft or Second Life, anyone? Maybe they’re just trying to justify getting the $14 a month subscription on the office systems at taxpayer expense for those slow Friday afternoons.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/blog/2008/06/rick_karr_on_internet_surveill.html
June 14th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Paranoia will destroy ya….
June 15th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
this is news? we’ve all known this for a while now. paranoid? no it’s just the reality we live in.
June 16th, 2008 at 9:44 am
It’s not reality….maybe yours…but not for the rest of us….
June 17th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Wow. So you think that the study by Northeastern University was just all made up, because that’s not the reality you choose to live in?