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Carnegie Mellon Resists FBI Tapping Requirement

Posted by Zonk on from the man-standing-up-to-the-man dept.

roach2002 writes "Carnegie Mellon University is fighting back against a requirement that taps on campus internet access must be quickly obtainable. The technology that would allow the FBI to monitor internet access, after a court order, "at the flip of a switch" would cost at least $450 per student. MIT is also covering the story." From the article: "'The Department of Justice wants 24/7 access, whenever they need it, and they want remote access. We find that too extremely burdensome in terms of money, staff, and technology,' said Maureen McFalls, Director of Government Relations for Carnegie Mellon and the coordinator of Carnegie Mellon's response to this issue. According to an ACE press release, the cost to universities could be upwards of $7 billion, or at least $450 extra on each student's tuition bill."

2 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. Obligatory LOTR Reference... by BubbaFett · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The FBI only needs to speak, friend (mellon), and enter?

  2. The War On Privacy by bigtrike · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Apparently the Republicans are sick of starting unwinnable wars such The War On Some Drugs or The War On A Method Of Warfare. The War On Privacy is much more winnable, look at all the progress they've made in the few short years since the "Patriot Act" was passed.

    Let's look at what they have accomplished in this war:

    • Any time we don't want to follow very reasonable rules of international or US law, technicalities are made up so the people can be detained and tortured. indefinitely.
    • Wiretaps can be obtained without a judge's approval.
    • Due process is gone. Citizens can be held indefinitely and secretly. Without right to a trial.
    • Secret search and seizures are now legal
    • The US government has built prisons in remote locations specifically to escape any law whatsoever. (Incidentally, an oil services company named Halliburton with no previous prison building experience was given a no-bid contract to build them)
    • Your library records are now available to the government without a judge's approval
    • Nobody is allowed to talk about anything that occurs under the patriot act. This does a good job of preventing the general public from finding out about its violations of the principles this nation was founded on.
    • Even our own CIA agent's identities are not private with this administration.

    And why did we give up all of our rights? Because the Republicans could supposedly prevent and prepare us for another terrorist attack. You saw how well the new DHS handled a natural disaster with several days notice. Is there any reason to assume that the political appointees in charge of prevent terrorist attacks are any more competent than those who were appointed to handle the aftermath?

    Good job Republicans. You've erased privacy. You've made the biggest expansion of the US government under any president. You managed to create a nation where Islam is the absolute rule of law out of one which was secular before. You've managed to kill thousands of American soldiers for an undefined cause. You've given all of your friend's companies no-bid contracts to be highly paid mercenaries and steal another nation's natural resources. You let North Korea get nukes and become a major threat. Best of all, you've paid for it by bankrupting social security, screwing us average citizens out of a future.