SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Nearly two years before the U.S. government's first known inquiry into the activities of Reddit co-founder and famed digital activist Aaron Swartz, the FBI swept up his email data in a counterterrorism investigation that also ensnared students at an American university, according to a once-secret document first published by Gizmodo.
The email data belonging to Swartz, who was likely not the target of the counterterrorism investigation, was cataloged by the FBI and accessed more than a year later as it weighed potential charges against him for something wholly unrelated. The legal practice of storing data on Americans who are not suspected of crimes, so that it may be used against them later on, has long been denounced by civil liberties experts, who've called on courts and lawmakers to curtail the FBI's "radically" expansive search procedures.
The government does store information indefinitely that can be used against you later at a more convenient time.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 15 2018, @02:34AM (3 children)
Agree with Ethanol's post. Multiple times now, we've read that someone was reported to the FBI. The FBI "investigated", and declined to do anything meaningful. The subject of the investigation later shoots up a school - or whatever.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Saturday December 15 2018, @02:58AM (2 children)
To be fair, short of locking everyone up, they can't stop such attacks.
Some of these people start spouting threats and make it on the FBI's radar. Did they commit a serious crime? Probably not.
Others are known to local authorities for petty incidents, or are reported to school administrators, just known in general to be creepy/edgy individuals, etc. Still no good way to stop them.
Then you have people like Stephen Paddock. No criminal history, fairly affluent, looks and acts completely normal.
Predicting the future is hard. Making the future, by handing out toy guns, toy old-timey dynamite, bags of literal shit, or play-doh C4 to stupid would-be terrorists or the mentally handicapped, is much easier. The FBI gets to report that the scary terrorists were caught, and pad their numbers. The money keeps rolling in. Security theater ain't just for the TSA.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 15 2018, @06:08PM (1 child)
"Then you have people like Stephen Paddock. No criminal history, fairly affluent, looks and acts completely normal."
except that he has been involved with the fbi for years. his dad was a bank robber. you know shit all about the fbi and all these bootlickers modding you insightful are fucking pitiful.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Saturday December 15 2018, @06:47PM
"his dad was a bank robber" != "criminal history"
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]