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IRS: We Used Stingray Devices To Track 37 Phones (arstechnica.com)
An anonymous reader writes: In October, we discussed the troubling revelation that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service had its own stingray devices, which are commonly used by law enforcement to intercept phone signals and track criminal suspects. The IRS has now addressed these allegations (PDF), confirming that they do indeed have one of the devices, and are trying to get a second. The agency said it tracked 37 phones across 11 different grand jury investigations, and the devices were also used in four non-IRS investigations. They say, "IRS use of cell-site simulation technology is limited to the federal law enforcement arm of the IRS, our Criminal Investigation division. Only trained law enforcement agents have used cell-site simulation technology, carrying out criminal investigations in accordance with all appropriate federal and state judicial procedures."
The IRS admitting to using this is sadly comforting, in that a government agency does not feel compelled to lie about it's use of Stingray. I am getting too used to being spied on everyday, everywhere, by everyone, about everything.
Evidently, there isn't any actual law and/or precedent indicating how to use Stingray's. It is a POLICY decision. This week, we happen to choose to get warrants to use it. Next week, who knows. There might be an emergency situation.
But even if it were, hypothetically, "illegal", the only entity that can do anything about it is Congress, and they won't.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
The IRS are the accountants of the government, it would undoubtedly gall them to no end to keep two sets of books in this matter. I'm not saying they couldn't do it, I'm just saying it would be out of character.
The interesting thing is not the number of phones they "tracked". The interesting thing really is the number of phones which accidentally reported their location to the IRS and had their data ignored by the IRS. Each of those people is put at risk, however slightly. We can hope the IRS destroys that "inadvertently collected" data but given that they don't mention it the letter is a bit disturbing.
There's no need for double book keeping here since they probably are simply not interested in our counting the data about inadvertent collects, and if they were it's a separate number (like revenue and profit). Someone needs to ask them for the number of inadvertent data collects.
Taxes are necessary for any society, but I can see why people want to "cheat" the system when they are getting taxed upon already taxed income multiple layers deep.
The IRS needs to set a single flat tax and cut the nickel and dime, fingers in every pie model that they currently have. There also needs to be a way for people to steer where their taxes go or don't go amongst a voted upon list of societal needs.
The IRS knows they are untouchable now. They can willfully destroy any private group at will, as they did with conservative groups, without punishment - who cares if at the same time they are listening on cell phone conversations of taxpayers? They say it's only the enforcement arm, but since any taxpayer is potentially lying about taxes, the enforcement arm would cover everyone in the U.S....
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"in accordance with all appropriate federal and state judicial procedures."
In other words, "as they damn well please".
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
All costs of living should be based on ability to pay.
No this is not correct at all. In fact this type of thinking is one of the core reasons the wealth gap exists. If someone cannot afford to live where they are the NEED TO LEAVE. If transportation and bridge tolls make it to expensive for you to earn a living working in the city you need to move out of the city.
The fact the middle class taxes go to subsides and safety net programs are what allow the super rich to get away with not paying living wages.
If you want to fix the income gap here is how you do it:
1) Fix the illegal immigrant problem so there are a large number of agriculture jobs, low skill factory and mining / mineral extraction work, or service work available that actually will pay minimum wage. It is possible to live on minimum wage in large parts of the middle west and south.
2) Tax foreign labor as an import. US business that utilize offshore labor should pay payroll taxes on employees over seas. Unless they can show that employees effort does not contribute materially to their US operations.
3) Kill off public housing and food subsidies for people who live in high cost densely populated areas. Provide them instead with free bus fair to (1). This will reduce the supply of cheap labor in densely populated areas. Either it will trigger the export of jobs to lower cost regions or it will trigger higher wages to maintain the labor supply. The going wage at Starbucks in Palo Alto should be $15 dollars an hour not because the minimum wage is $15 but because their won't be a barista to higher for less because they won't otherwise be able to live near by otherwise and will move away.
Things like cost of living indexed taxation, and residential subsides don't really help the poor do anything other than stay poor. What they do provide is the very wealthy with a heavily discounted labor pool at the expense of the middle class.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
Hey, they could just follow established procedure and have the UK and Australia spy on American citizens and then share the data with the US and vice-versa.
That way the US avoids spying on US citizens.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff