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from the nothing-to-hide-vs-none-of-your-business dept.
The New York Times published an interesting story about the fears of the current FBI director:
The director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, said Thursday that federal laws should be changed to require telecommunications companies to give law enforcement agencies access to the encrypted communications of individuals suspected of crimes.
... Mr. Comey warned that crimes could go unsolved if law enforcement officers cannot gain access to information that technology companies like Apple and Google are protecting using increasingly sophisticated encryption technology.
“Unfortunately, the law hasn’t kept pace with technology, and this disconnect has created a significant public safety problem,” he said.
Mr. Comey said that he was hoping to spur Congress to update the 20-year-old Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which does not require companies to give law enforcement direct access to individuals’ communications.
The F.B.I. has long had concerns about devices “going dark” — when technology becomes so sophisticated that the authorities cannot gain access to them. But now, Mr. Comey is warning that the new encryption technology has evolved to the point that it could adversely affect crime solving.
The kicker is this line:
“Those charged with protecting our people aren’t always able to access the evidence we need to prosecute crime and prevent terrorism, even with lawful authority."
Of course, it should be no surprise to the FBI why so many people are going "dark" and using things like Tails. For decades, the government has proven time and again that it can't be trusted to act lawfully and constitutionally. The FBI is responsible for more than its share of that. So naturally those who can are going to take steps to protect their privacy and Apple and Google, among others, are simply responding to that demand.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday October 17 2014, @01:26PM
The money for building new "correctional facilities" are running thin. Especially if the comfort of those facilities would need to cater for the lifestyle of the banksters
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday October 17 2014, @01:35PM
Why cater to their lifestyle? Force-march them to the top of Mt. Erebus and drop them in.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mcgrew on Friday October 17 2014, @01:56PM
A story on the green site right now: "As Prison Population Sinks, Jails Are a Steal". Prison populations are falling, not rising. One example: Illinois built the Thompson Correctional Center, and it's still empty. Illinois sold it to the feds, we just don't have enough criminals.
Crime rates have been falling for years.
No one born who could always afford anything he wanted can have a clue what "affordability" means.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by takyon on Friday October 17 2014, @02:47PM
The gradual decriminalization of marijuana will also increase the number of empty cells.
Marijuana a Thorn in Side of Private Prison Industry [projectcannabis.org]
The Top Five Special Interest Groups Lobbying To Keep Marijuana Illegal [republicreport.org]
Money, Not Morals, Drives Marijuana Prohibition Movement [opensecrets.org]
4 Industries Getting Rich Off the Drug War [reason.com]
Marijuana Legalization: Pharmaceuticals, Alcohol Industry Among Biggest Opponents Of Legal Weed [ibtimes.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by strattitarius on Friday October 17 2014, @03:21PM
Slashdot Beta Sucks. Soylent Alpha Rules. News at 11.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday October 18 2014, @01:03PM
In Colorado where they legalized it completely, it wasn't just that they weren't jailing pot smokers, but other crimes, especially violent crime, dropped. Outlawing marijuana was insanely stupid.
No one born who could always afford anything he wanted can have a clue what "affordability" means.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday October 17 2014, @03:50PM
After all, you only have one governor at a time, and it takes a while to go from inauguration to conviction!
But more seriously, my concern about the drop in crime is that some of the so-called "law-and-order" types will react by trying to create more criminals by making things illegal that didn't used to be. Particularly if it's a law that can be enforced only against black and Hispanic men, like most drug laws currently are. There will also be an uptick in the already existing trend of treating innocent people as if they were criminals, up to and including summary execution by police (e.g. another unarmed black guy was shot in St Louis just last week, and it barely made the news).
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @05:10PM
Marrying female children is allready illegal.
So why complain about the rest.
The worst has allready been done.
(Score: 2) by mendax on Saturday October 18 2014, @12:09AM
California jails and prisons are bursting to overflowing. Most people here know of the overcrowding in California prisons. They're still overcrowded, still filling gyms with bunks. I write to people in prisons and one of them lives in a gym, with bunks three beds high. The "realignment" law of a couple years ago shifted some people who would normally end up in prisons to county jails. It allowed some jails that were closed due to lack of funding to reopen but they too are bursting at the seams now.
Our society needs to get over this fetish with throwing the book at people and warehousing them in prisons. Many people would be better served by alternatives. There are some people who need to be locked away forever and the prisons are there for them.
It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.