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Facebook Patented Making NSA Data Handoffs Easier

Posted by Soulskill on from the can-make-a-fortune-on-the-infringement-suits dept.

theodp writes "In June, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg blasted 'outrageous press reports' about the PRISM surveillance program, denying that Facebook was ever 'part of any program to give the U.S. or any other government direct access to our servers.' What Zuckerberg didn't mention, and what the press overlooked, is that the USPTO granted Facebook a patent in May for its Automated Writ Response System. Like the NSA-enabling systems described by the NY Times on the same day Zuckerberg cried foul, the patent covers technical methods to more efficiently share the personal data of users with law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in response to lawful government requests via APIs and secured portals installed at company-controlled locations. 'While handing over data in response to a legitimate FISA request is a legal requirement,' the Times noted, 'making it easier for the government to get the information is not, which is why Twitter could decline to do so.'"

5 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. What an asshole by Enter+the+Shoggoth · · Score: 5, Insightful

    'nuf said

    --
    Andy Warhol got it right / Everybody gets the limelight
    Andy Warhol got it wrong / Fifteen minutes is too long.
    1. Re:What an asshole by GameboyRMH · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Let's not forget, this is the same guy who signed up for Google+ the day it launched and then closed his account because he "didn't want Google tracking him" or something like that.

      He mocks the stupidity of the Average Joe right in front of their faces and they never catch on.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  2. Legitimate FISA request by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    legitimate FISA request

    By their very nature they fail to be legitimate in my eyes.

  3. Re:At least now we know the real Mark Zuckerberg . by Mitreya · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... and I am glad I never waste any of my time in fb

    Don't worry -- at least half a dozen of your friends are working hard to make sure you are not forgotten (posting and tagging fotos, marking "I know this person from..." questions, etc.)

  4. Re:Misleading title by Sockatume · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If Facebook is getting so many writs for personal data that it has to automate the process, and the senders are creating so many that they need access via an API so they can send them programatically, I don't think you're talking about subpoenas in any more than the strictest technical sense.

    --
    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?