Angry at the NSA spying scandals? Believe that the government should actually follow the Constitution? Then come to a Restore The Fourth protest on Boston Common this July 4. This is being organized through Reddit and Facebook.
Ray of Light in Massachusetts: Supreme Judicial Court Rules in Commonwealth v. Rousseau that GPS Tracking Requires Probable Cause, Mere Fact of Surveillance Establishes Standing
by Alex Marthews on June 13, 2013
In a week of devastating disclosures about government surveillance, here’s one ray of light. The ACLU of Massachusetts reports the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court‘s verdict in Commonwealth v. Rousseau. In separate trials, John Rousseau and Michael Dreslinski were each convicted of four charges relating to a spree of burning and vandalizing properties. As part of their [...]
Get Your Data Out Of The US Now: NSA’s “PRISM” System Reveals How Insecure Your Data Really Is
by Alex Marthews on June 7, 2013
As if yesterday’s explosive revelations about NSA’s ongoing interception of all of Americans’ phone calls weren’t enough, yesterday evening another top secret document was released (see here for screenshots), documenting for the first time that NSA had persuaded every major tech company with the exception (so far) of Twitter to allow them real-time access to [...]
Can You Hear Us Now? Colonial-Style General Warrants Return To America
by Alex Marthews on June 6, 2013
Glenn Greenwald in the British newspaper The Guardian has published a leaked Top Secret order dating from the day of the Boston Marathon bombings providing evidence of intrusive cellphone surveillance dating from at least 2007. In the order, the NSA directs Verizon to send to it daily the metadata on ALL CELLPHONE CALLS – the [...]
Microscope Monday: Analysis of Massachusetts’ proposed License Plate Privacy Act, H 3068 / S 1648
by Alex Marthews on June 4, 2013
One of the curious things about digitization is that it allows data to be circulated and shared almost effortlessly. New, cheap ways of sharing and storing data can turn data collection that was previously quite innocent into a serious threat to our ability to be free from government surveillance. Historically, the law has recognized no [...]
A Helpful PSA from the Boston Regional Intelligence Center
by Alex Marthews on May 29, 2013
Here at the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, we have watched in sorrow as misinformation about our work to defend America and keep Americans safe here in America has appeared in certain scurrilous publications. We felt it was important to get the truth out about what we do and why we do it. Some crypto-Marxist at [...]
#MassOps Fusion Center Protest Rally: BRIC, Boston, June 1, 2:30pm
by Alex Marthews on May 17, 2013
#MassOps, supported by the Defend the Fourth Coalition and Digital Fourth, are putting together a protest rally at the Boston Regional Intelligence Center. This is located at the headquarters of Boston PD, at One Schroeder Plaza, Roxbury, MA 02120. The rally is at 2:30pm, and there’s a pub crawl starting around 6:00-6:30pm. For background on fusion [...]
Maryland v. King: Supreme Court Rules That Warrantless DNA Swabs of Arrestees Are A-OK
by Alex Marthews on May 17, 2013
[Originally published before the ruling; text and headline updated to reflect it. - Ed.] The Supreme Court is considering the case Maryland v. King (thanks to Jennifer Wagner at Genomics Law Report for an excellent and detailed analysis), which turns on whether law enforcement needs a warrant to take the DNA of someone arrested and [...]
Ace G-Man Knows All: FBI Agent Claims Power to Access Content of All Phone Calls Ever
by Alex Marthews on May 6, 2013
Citizen! Were you under the misapprehension that the terrorist-sympathizing Supreme Court had ruled long ago that law enforcement had to get an actual warrant before accessing the content of your phone calls? Has that thought been keeping you up at night, because it allows people to express potentially un-American thoughts without the FBI being able [...]
Civil Liberties Commentary on the Boston Marathon Manhunt
by Alex Marthews on April 22, 2013
A variety of excellent commentary over the weekend reflected on the civil liberties implications of the Boston Marathon attacks. Over at Salon, Falguni Sheth and Robert Prasch used a thought experiment (What would have been different if the bombing had happened in 1977, before mass electronic surveillance?) to argue that the vast expenditure on the [...]