Wiretapping, The Year in Review

An AC was the first to send in this CNN article about FBI wiretapping, based on documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act Request. (I found the article funny because the documents were so heavily censored - the FBI gets to eavesdrop on the public, but not vice-versa.) According to CNN: wiretapping is up, up, up. But the Electronic Privacy Information Center notes that the U.S. court system has just released its annual wiretapping report, and according to EPIC, wiretapping is down. I think someone forgot to carry a 1 somewhere.

Comments

Has /. been electronically wiretapped?

[macdaddy]

This is an interesting thought. Is /. considered a radical rebel group with a large and loyal following that occasionally posts provocative articles promoting action of some sorts? If so then what are the odds that upstream of Andover someone (Big Brother) is watching all /.'s traffic? It's really not that far fetched if you think about it. This.. is the "Penguin Brief®". Within minutes of posting this comment, I expect some person clad in black with dark sunglasses and big guns to knock on my front door. I sure hope it's Barb Wire. :)

--

Re:nothing to hide

[bravehamster]

I agree with the person that said, "I have nothing to hide." I can understand how people would want their privacy, but unless you have something to hide, why not let them read your emails? It's not like they're going to care if you send messages to your lover behind your wife/husband's back. All they're looking for are illegal things that people aren't doing.. aren't they?

You're relaxing on the couch, watching the tv, when you hear your backdoor open. You see a man, dressed in a dark suit and wearing sunglasses walking towards your desk. Without hesitation he sits down and begins going through your papers.

"Excuse me," you say "Can I help you?".

"No thank you sir, just checking for anything illegal, be done in a few moments."

Since this happens about once a week you think nothing more of it and walk back to your couch and your sheep-like lifestyle.

AND YOU'RE OK WITH THIS SCENARIO?????

More COINTELPRO?? Amerikkka the beautiful.

[Jizzbug]

I wouldn't be surprised if tapping is up lately due to more COINTELPRO-ish operations on the government's end due to the recent resurgence of political activism in this country (and especially with the emergence of black bloc-style activism and direct action). Heck, I wouldn't doubt it if I've got a nice sized file at FBI headquarters by now--being that I've worked with various black blocs from D.C. to Boston to St. Louis to Kansas City, and at each action we've been photographed and video-recorded by several various "law enforcement" agencies. Also, at each action, hordes of undercover and covert "operatives" have turned up within the protest factions; imagine government officials covertly placing officers undercover for the sole purpose of sabotaging protesters' freedom of speech--it's very Orwellian to me. And with the recent heavy-handed tactics (see here, here, here, here, and here) of various agencies, I certainly wouldn't doubt loads of crazy surveillance in the off-time. (SIDE NOTE: In London, during the peaceful [that is if it wasn't for the cops rioting] May Day protesters were surrounded, detained in the streets, and not allowed to disperse until all activists had given their names, addresses, and had mugshots taken.)

"When people fear the government, there is tyranny. When government fears the people, there is liberty."
-- Thomas Paine

Get the truth (or at least the other side of the story): Read the Independant Media Center.

Re:So?

[Sir_Winston]

> In the FBI's defense, they are saddled with "justifying" everything within the law.
> The CIA and NSA, on the other hand, can break the law all day long and get away with it.
> Different structures, different sets of accountability.

Well, the FBI gets singled out because, of all the agencies you mention, the FBI is the only one that's a consistent threat to the American people themselves. The FBI and ATF together are, in my opinion, the most egregeous threat to civil liberties in this country. Waco and Ruby Ridge aren't even what I'm talking about, although they were absolutely horrendous. What I'm talking about is the fact that the FBI, even after J. Edgar Hoover's reign of terror, has spied on citizens without cause or warrant, kept dossiers on people based merely on political beliefs, and with the ATF seems to raid everyone who collects legal guns as per our 2nd Amendment rights if a "flag" goes up--i.e., don't own too many guns, or just a few guns and have non-mainstream political ideals.

Contrast this with the NSA and CIA. The latter doesn't even investigate Americans, and even if they did they're concerned with intelligence. The CIA doesn't care if you have a bunch of fanatical religious followers living with you in Texas, have unusual political beliefs and a survivalist mentality, own two hundred firearms, operate a terabyte RAID array of copyrighted mp3s, pirated DivXs, and hardcore child pornography, grow massive fields of marijuana and coca, evade your taxes, and do all sorts of other major and minor violations. In fact, they'd likely just discard any such information unless it could prove useful to them, since they are interested in things with important international ramifications or at least intelligence interest, not minor domestic affairs. They probably would just destroy info on you, or at least lock it up rather than passing it on, if you are a U.S. citizen caught up in their intel. And I say this as someone who used to have lengthy dinners with a former Deputy Director of the CIA each weekend, who was fond of talking policy if understandably not willing to talk about some things. The only threat the CIA ever posed to us was their experimentation with drugs and radiation on some unsuspecting citizens back in the 50s and 60s, which was horrible but confined to a small number of people and would be too risky to do these days.

And as for the NSA, they're charged with domestic intelligence and security issues and do not care about most things the FBI and ATF would be all over. They may consult on code cracking, but all in all they're not much of a threat compared to the FBI and ATF.

And then there's the IRS, but that's another matter entirely... ;-)

Clarification

[SirWhoopass]

The CNN article is reporting that the requests for internet wiretaps is up since 1997. The EPIC information is showing the actual number of taps for each year. It also indicates that the number of taps is increasing (except for state taps, which are down from 1998 to 1999, but up from 1997 to 1999).

Non-FBI Wiretaps

[commodoresloat]

These reports just deal with federal wiretaps. Unfortunately, I know of no data gathered about wiretaps by state and local law enforcement agencies. According to this article, the Los Angeles Police Department conducted about 100,000 wiretaps thanks to some shady activity on the part of LAPD officers to make the wiretaps look legal. I would not be surprised if such practice was common among many state and local agencies.

FBI Productivity...

[DarenN]

in their cybercrime division?

*Scene: Budgetary meeting on Capitol Hill*

FBI rep: So, as you can see, numbers of cases solved are up, percentages of convictions are up, crime is down, and fraud is down.

Senate committee: But here there is a 1% decrease in the number of wiretaps

FBI: Yes, but...

Senate committee: But in your annual report you committed to increases of....5%, wasn't it

FBI: But....

Senate committee: No buts, your productivity is clearly down in your cybercrime division. Your request for $2.5 million extra for your cybercrime division this year is denied until you meet your targets.

FBI: But...

Chairman : Shush

FBI: B...

Chairman : I've got a whole bag of "shush's" here all with your name on them. Now go.

*FBI representative exits the room muttering "I hate you"*

Re:anyone know...

[CaptainStormfield]

1) Pick up phone
2) Call friend/enemy/PHB/random person
3) Talk about doing lots of illegal stuff. Blowing up federal installations works well if you think you're being "tapped" by the FBI. Talk sticking up the local doughnut shop is a good bet if you're worried about the local fuzz.
4) Wait. If the police break down your door and arrest you, you know that you've been wiretapped. If not, then you're home free.

Bias

[Plague You]

The very first line of the CNN story displays an implicit collaborative bias:

The FBI has used Internet eavesdropping tools to track fugitives, drug dealers, extortionists, computer hackers and suspected foreign intelligence agents, documents show.(bold-faced emphasis mine)

Notice that of this list, only foreign intelligence agents are described as "suspected". Everyone else is given a "true" identifier, or at least one with no modifier indicating lack of certainity. This may seem like nit-picking, but contextual analysis of this nature certainly can give insight into the inherent biases of a given culture.

So what does this mean? I interpret it as CNN implicitly assuming the FBI is correct in their allegations against these sub-groups with the possible exception of foreign spies. Perhaps this indicates a bewilderment to the point of denial that anyone would freely choose to spy on the US. Scary as that last inference is, it is nothing compared to the former. In essence, CNN is promulgating the belief that if you are under suspicion, then you probably are guilty.

So much for the "liberal media" myth.