Privacy Digest

Beware of Robert Johnsons and Anyone Named Ted Kennedy - Via ACLU Blog - Privacy & Technology:

My latest Civil Discourse comic tackles the government's Terrorist Watch list, which has almost million names. Who's on it? Toddlers, dead people, congressmen, and Iraq War vets. You know, the people most likely to harm America. See the ACLU's watch list counter for more info.  read more »

What's Up with the Secret Cybersecurity Plans, Senators Ask DHS - Via Threat Level:

The government's new cyber-security "Manhattan Project" is so secretive that a key Senate oversight panel has been reduced to writing a letter to beg for answers to the most basic questions, such as what's going on, what's the point and what about privacy laws.

The Senate Homeland Security committee wants to know, for example, what is the goal of Homeland Security's new National Cyber Security Center. They also want to know why it is that in March, DHS announced that Silicon Valley evangelist and security novice Rod Beckstrom would direct the center, when up to that point DHS said the mere existence of the center was classified.

Those are just two sub-questions out of a list of 17 multi-part questions centrist Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) sent to DHS in a letter Friday.  read more »

Now Boarding at BWI: Security With Hint of Calm - Via washingtonpost.com - Technology:

Soothing blue lights. Light background noise. Brightly dressed employees who have been trained to create a "calmer environment."

A hip spa, right?

No. This is how top government officials imagine the airport security checkpoint of the future. In fact, the atmosphere is so calming that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff yesterday forgot to remove his shoes -- a major no-no -- while demonstrating the prototype checkpoint's screening process for reporters at Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport. (His top aviation security official took his shoes off.)

The new checkpoint, which includes an automated bin-return system and machines that can see through passengers' clothing, is part of an effort by Homeland Security officials to make airport security more efficient and easier on customers. Authorities also announced yesterday an initiative that they said will reduce hassles faced by travelers with names similar to those on a terrorist watch list.  read more »

Protecting Yourself From Suspicionless Searches While Traveling - Via EFF: Deep Links:

The Ninth Circuit's recent ruling (pdf) in United States v. Arnold allows border patrol agents to search your laptop or other digital device without limitation when you are entering the country. EFF and many civil liberties, travelers’ rights, immigration advocacy and professional organizations are concerned that unfettered laptop searches endanger trade secrets, attorney-client communications, and other private information. These groups have signed a letter asking Congress to hold hearings to find out what protocol, if any, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) follows in searching digital devices and copying, storing and using travelers’ data. The letter also asks Congress to pass legislation protecting travelers’ laptops and smart phones from unlimited government scrutiny.

If privacy at the border is important to you, contact Congress now and ask them to take action!

In the meantime, how can international travelers protect themselves at the U.S. border, short of leaving their laptops and iPhones at home?  read more »

Congress Must Investigate Electronic Searches at U.S. Borders - Via EFF: Breaking News:

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and a broad coalition, including civil rights groups, professional associations and technologists, called on Congress today to hold oversight hearings on the Department of Homeland Security's search and seizure of electronic devices at American borders.

The press has widely reported disturbing stories about U.S. citizens subject to intrusive searches of their laptops and cell phones. But a recent court decision found that customs officials can search travelers' computers at the border without suspicion or cause. In a letter sent to the House and Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary committees today, the coalition urges lawmakers to consider passing legislation to prevent abusive search practices by border agents and to protect all Americans from suspicionless digital border inspections.

"Our computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices hold a vast amount of personal information like financial data, health histories, and personal emails and letters," said EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann. "In a free country, the government cannot have unlimited power to read, seize, and store this information without any oversight."

So far, the Department of Homeland Security has refused to release its policies and procedures for conducting these intrusive searches. EFF and the Asian Law Caucus have filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security to obtain the information through the Freedom of Information Act.  read more »

Protect Digital Privacy at the Border and Beyond! - Via EFF Action Alerts:

Join a broad coalition of groups in urging key congressional committees to take action to protect travelers' digital privacy rights!

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in the caseU.S. v. Arnold holding that the Fourth Amendment does not require government agents to have reasonable suspicion before searching laptops at the border, including international airports. Meanwhile, a number of national newspapers have documented unnerving reports from travelers whose electronic devices have been seized as they crossed U.S. borders.  read more »

CDT Testimony: DHS, State Using Insecure RFID Technology - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:

The long-range or "vicinity" Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology chosen by the Departments of Homeland Security and State for government-issued ID documents poses serious risks to personal privacy and security, CDT testified today before a Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee. CDT recommended that DHS and State abandon the technology, which was originally developed to track things, not people, and that encryption be used to protect a citizen's unique ID number. CDT also urged Congress to support legislation or regulations banning unauthorized "skimming" of RFID chips and prohibiting use of the passport card and Enhanced Driver's License beyond border security.

# CDT Prepared Statement [PDF] April 29, 2008
# CDT Written Testimony [PDF] April 29, 2008

(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)

ACLU Testifies before Senate against Real ID - Via ACLU - Privacy:

WASHINGTON – Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office testified today about the privacy and security concerns with creating a federal identity document every American will need in order to fly on commercial airlines, enter government buildings, or open a bank account. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia held an oversight hearing on the Real ID Act and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, examining the federal government’s capacity to implement the new identification systems.  read more »

Court: Government Must Reveal Watch-List Status to Constantly Detained Americans - Via Threat Level:

Eight Americans of south Asian and Middle Eastern descent who were repeatedly detained at the border for questioning will be able to learn if they are actually on the government's terrorist watch list, a federal court in Illinois ruled last week, marking the first time that citizens have been able to learn whether they have been added to a sprawling and error-prone list used for screening at borders and traffic stops.

The government invoked the powerful state secrets privilege in the case, arguing that letting the plaintiffs know if they are or aren't on the list would harm national security since that could alert them to the fact they have been under government scrutiny.

But since the government admits it has stopped the six men and two women more than 35 times, federal Magistrate Judge Sidney Schenkier of the United States Northern Illinois District Court dismissed that argument. Instead he found that the government "failed to establish that, under all the circumstances of this case, disclosure of that information would create a reasonable danger of jeopardizing national security."  read more »

State Secrets Finally Gets Some Spotlight with the Senate - Via ACLU Blog:

Senator Edward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) State Secrets Protection Act finally had its moment in the sun today — the hearing has been postponed almost every week since February. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill 11 to 8, and now it's on its way to the floor for debate. Mandy Simon, Senior Legislative Communications Associate for our Washington, D.C., office, blogged about the bill and the use of the state secrets privilege in OpenLeft today. The privilege was rejected most recently in an ACLU of Illinois case involving the terrorism watch list. Mandy writes:  read more »

FBI, politicos renew push for ISP data retention laws - Via The Iconoclast - CNET News.com:

WASHINGTON--The FBI and multiple members of Congress said on Wednesday that Internet service providers must be legally required to keep records of their users' activities for later review by police.

Their suggestions for mandatory data retention revive a push for potentially sweeping federal laws--which civil libertarians oppose--that flagged last year after the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the idea's most prominent proponent.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told a House of Representatives committee that Internet service providers should be required to keep records of users' activities for two years.  read more »

Border Agents Can Search Laptops Without Cause, Appeals Court Rules - Via Threat Level:

Federal agents at the border do not need any reason to search through travelers' laptops, cell phones or digital cameras for evidence of crimes, a federal appeals court ruled Monday, extending the government's power to look through belongings like suitcases at the border to electronics.

The unanimous three-judge decision reverses a lower court finding that digital devices were "an extension of our own memory" and thus too personal to allow the government to search them without cause. Instead, the earlier ruling said, Customs agents would need some reasonable and articulable suspicion a crime had occurred in order to search a traveler's laptop.

On appeal, the government argued that was too high a standard, infringing upon its right to keep the country safe and enforce laws. Civil rights groups, joined by business traveler groups, weighed in, defending the lower court ruling.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the government, finding that the so-called border exception to the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches applied not just to suitcases and papers, but also to electronics.  read more »

'Outrageous' REAL ID affront to Americans' privacy concerns ( by Mark Sanford, the Republican governor of South Carolina ) - Via The Post and Courier of Charleston, SC :

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that most people haven't followed the debate on REAL ID. If you indeed missed it, I would ask that you take the time to learn about what I consider the most troubling piece of legislation I've seen come from Washington since I've been governor.

REAL ID would surreptitiously require all fifty states to change their driver's licenses to act as de-facto national ID cards. It's outrageous, and not just because it was a back door way of doing something proponents in Washington have never been able to pull off in the past.

I say "outrageous" because REAL ID was never really debated in Congress because the cost of its implementation is handed down to states and individuals, and because it is an affront to Americans' privacy concerns.

Let's look more closely at a few of those concerns:  read more »

ACLU Says Fusion Centers Remain Problematic - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

Washington, DC – As a Senate subcommittee met today to get a "progress report" on fusion centers, the American Civil Liberties Union once again voiced its concerns with the intelligence-gathering institutions. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration heard testimony from government and intelligence officials on a recent report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the centers. Though several recent reports have confirmed fusion centers’ growing role in law enforcement and revealed their expanding ties to private industry, including relationships with massive data-brokering companies, no third parties were set to testify. The ACLU released a report last year outlining serious concerns with fusion centers.

"Fusion centers have the potential to be privacy nightmares," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "Every inch of privacy we surrender gives the government a mile of latitude to invade it further. There’s simply too much we don’t know. Strict guidelines must be put in place and enforced. We urge the subcommittee and all of Congress to keep a close eye on those who are keeping a close eye on us."  read more »

You, With the Camera! Stop Acting Suspicious! - Via ACLU Blog:

Mike German, a former FBI agent who currently works as policy counsel for our Washington, D.C. office, wrote in our DailyKos Diary about how local law enforcement agencies across the country are gathering a curious kind of domestic intelligence on citizens, all in the name of, you guessed it, national security:

The Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times both reported on the Los Angeles Police Department’s extensive list of "criminal and non-criminal" behaviors, which LAPD officers are instructed to report as "suspicious activities." The list includes such innocuous, clearly subjective and First Amendment protected activities as "taking pictures or video footage with no apparent esthetic value," "drawing diagrams and taking notes," "espousing extremist views," and "engaging in suspected coded conversations or transmissions."  read more »