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NSA Unlawfully Surveilled Kim Dotcom In New Zealand, Says Report (thehill.com)
According to new documents from New Zealand's Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), the NSA illegally used technology to spy on Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom. "The New Zealand Herald first reported that the GCSB told the nation's high court that it ceased all surveillance of Dotcom in early 2012, but that 'limited' amounts of communications from Dotcom were later intercepted by its technology without the bureau's knowledge," reports The Hill. From the report: Dotcom was surveilled by the NSA and the GCSB in a joint intelligence operation named Operation Debut. According to the Herald, that surveillance was scheduled to end in January 2012, but the United States continued to use New Zealand's technology. According to court documents obtained by the Herald, "Limited interception of some communications continued beyond the detasking date without the knowledge of GCSB staff." The court papers don't explain how the NSA was able to use the GCSB's spying technology without the bureau's knowledge. According to the Herald, "The GCSB documents do contain an admission of NSA involvement, although it was not made outright." Dotcom is facing charges of copyright infringement and money laundering related to Megaupload, a file-sharing website shut down in 2012. He is currently fighting U.S. attempts to extradite him from New Zealand.
Does he think he is special? The NSA spies on everyone.
I cannot believe this, we all know that the NSA or any other 3 or 4 or in fact agency with any number of letters even up and including alphabet would never do anything evil like this.
So now they're in the business of copyright enforcement.
Sure, Kim Dotcom is a dirtbag, but I don't understand why he's a target of the NSA. He's not -- as far as I'm aware -- an existential threat to the United States. He's just a greasy internet guy from a foreign country. How can he be laundering money against US interests when he keeps no money and doesn't reside there. It's all very strange.
Big fat douchebag. Fat fat FAT!
mine's available
It's not illegal in the US for the NSA to spy on other countries. And it's not illegal in Russia to subvert elections in the US.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Who could have possibly seen this coming?
WHERE DID WE GO WRONG?
I doubt the US constitution offers any protection from unreasonable search and seizure to foreign people in a foreign land -- regardless of whether it may have violated NZ law. As such fighting against extradition from NZ is the only thing keeping him from facing the courts.
I am not surprised that the NSA spied on him, I would just be surprised if any of that information could or would make its way into civilian law enforcement hands. I suspect the NSA was spying because any storage could be used to store information used to communicate between terrorist cells (i.e. steganography)
The Internet Party NZ will be drafting an Anti-Spy bill live online on Sunday the 6th of August with the help of international guests who are experts in the field of state and private intelligence gathering practices, violations and mass surveillance.
I reserve the write to mangle english.
fag
Sure, Kim Dotcom is a dirtbag, but I don't understand why he's a target of the NSA.
1)
In the US, people who have lots of money can get the government to do their bidding. This is the basis of the lobbying industry, but it is certainly not limited to lobbying.
2)
The people behind the media industry have lots of money. They have for some time been freaking out that they are not getting more money as fast as they think they should be getting more money and they blame sharing, such as Kim Dotcom facilitated, for a great portion of their cash stream slowing.
3) The people behind the media industry will stop at nothing in their efforts to get more money or at least make sure no one gets anything for free.
Details like international borders don't matter to these people. They will do whatever it takes to make sure they get as much money in their pockets
as possible. And if that means using the NSA and subverting local or national laws, that's what they will do.
4)
Money and guns run the world. Rules and laws are for the peasants, not for the ruling class.
Any questions ?
"I am shocked, shocked, to find gambling in this establishment!"
Kim Dotcom claimed recently to have involvement with Seth Rich leaking the DNC emails to wikileaks. He said that he was acting as a go-between. If he's not lying then it's not surprising that the NSA would have been spying on him.
I'm sorry, is that supposed to mean something to the NSA, or any of the other agencies that are designed to operate outside the 'law'?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Why were the NSA spying on someone who was possibly involved in copyright infringement?
Why was the GCSB assisting the NSA in spying on someone who was possibly involved in copyright infringement?
Remember, back then the 'crime' that DotCom was supposed to have committed was not actually a crime in NZ (they later played a lot of political games to shuffle things over the other supposed crimes that were, so they could not get laughed out of extradition hearings). It was certainly nothing that should come under NSA jurisdiction.
What we are really seeing here is the truth of the government spying - and that is it is a tool to use against citizens whenever the government feels they have 'crossed the line' of what they are allowed to do. It is not a particularly useful tool against terrorism - because you need to know your targets, and you usually dont know a terrorism target until AFTER they have done whatever they were planning.
It is however a very VERY effective political tool for repressing alternative views - you only have to point out to someone some 'embarrassing' details that have been trawled up, and quietly suggest they play along, or such things could get leaked by accident..
they should have shot him.
What report?
No report in the Herald or other NZ publication would use the word "surveilled". They still speak English there.
We should shoot you, all of us. Just for thinking that. Especially about someone you only know about because of the media.
It's not even a big deal what Kim did, YouTube and Facebook have far more pirates.
Why is the NSA wasting resources and time on someone like DotCom ?
Last I checked the man wasn't exactly a threat to National Security.
If you believe the news these days ( hahahahaha ) there are so many terrorists out there to " get us ", that the NSA should have plenty to do instead of spying on someone like DotCom.
Someone stole my bike. But since I'm not a billion dollar corporation I don't get to have several government agencies at my disposal for pursuing what amount to a civil case.
I assure you the I am hurt more for not having a bicycle than a movie studio is when someone pirates a film.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
Misread that title as NASA - Kim is almost big enough to show up on one of their LEO satellites I suppose.
terrorist, unfriendly foreign power, or any sort of security threat to the US. The NSA is an intelligence agency, not an anti-piracy agency.
They work for the highest (domestic) bidder. What do you think their base in Germany is for? But people only gets apeshit crazy about Chinese Industrial espionage.
sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
Everything the NSA does is illegal somewhere.
a) when they spy on people outside the USA, it is illegal in that location, country, state, city
b) when they spy on people inside the USA, it violates the 4th and 10th amendments to the US Constitution
c) They have to be stopped. Defunded.
I'm still confused as to why the NSA would be bothering with copyright infringement when they have both a war on terror and war on drugs to fight? Seems that both of those boondoggles should be enough.
What do you call a fact that isn't correct?
It is very simple.
Copyright violation charge versus a conviction, for rape of a child no less.
Moving the goalpost towards questioning the validity of the conviction is going away from the point. Would a different example of someone fleeing justice help?
My point is the response to copyright violation seems disproportionate.