Do You Like Online Privacy? You May Be a Terrorist

schwit1 passes on this snippet from Public Intelligence: "A flyer designed by the FBI and the Department of Justice to promote suspicious activity reporting in internet cafes lists basic tools used for online privacy as potential signs of terrorist activity. The document, part of a program called 'Communities Against Terrorism,' lists the use of 'anonymizers, portals, or other means to shield IP address' as a sign that a person could be engaged in or supporting terrorist activity. The use of encryption is also listed as a suspicious activity along with steganography, the practice of using 'software to hide encrypted data in digital photos' or other media. In fact, the flyer recommends that anyone 'overly concerned about privacy' or attempting to 'shield the screen from view of others' should be considered suspicious and potentially engaged in terrorist activities. ... The use of PGP, VPNs, Tor or any of the many other technologies for anonymity and privacy online are directly targeted by the flyer, which is distributed to businesses in an effort to promote the reporting of these activities."

Comments

Hilarious Double Standard

[tekrat]

So, if I'm trying to protect my privacy on the internet, I may be a terrorist, but if I'm carrying a fully-loaded assault rifle on the streets, I'm just a red-blooded American patriot asserting my rights.

Sort of like, if I blow up a school or army base, I'm a terrorist, but if I blow up an abortion clinic, I'm passionate about saving God's children.

Or my particular favorite: If a brown-skinned individual dares to open a Mosque within 100 miles of ground zero, it's debated hotly on the airwaves, and politicians even try to block it, but if Neo-Nazis or the KKK decide to march through a Jewish or black neighborhood, that's their first amendment rights, and not even questioned.