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Appeals Court Punts on AT&T Spying Case Appeal - Via Threat Level:
More than a year after hearing oral arguments, a federal appeals court has declined to rule on whether lawsuits targeting the president's warrantless wiretapping of Americans are too secret to be challenged in court, according to an order released Thursday.
Instead, the court deferred to Congress's recent passage of amnesty for telecoms that secretly helped the spying, returning the case to a lower court where the government will fight to have the suits dismissed using the amnesty provision.
The odd ending counts as victory for the Electronic Frontier Foundation -- which is suing AT&T for helping the government warrantlessly spy on Americans. read more »
Appeals Court Remands Gov't Appeal in Hepting v. AT&T - Via EFF.org Updates:
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit returned the Hepting v. AT&T case to the District Court. In a two sentence order, the court wrote:
In light of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-261, we remand this case to the district court. We retain jurisdiction over any further appeals.
The government and AT&T had appealed Judge Vaughn Walker's June 2006 decision rejecting the argument that the state secrets privilege prevented millions of ordinary American from having their day in court. Oral argument was held August 2007. read more »
Louisiana Passes Intelligent Design Law - Via Slashdot:
H0D_G writes "The US state of Louisiana has passed the 'Science Education Act,' a piece of legislation that could allow Intelligent design to be taught in schools. From the article: 'The act is designed to slip ID in "through the back door"'"
(Read Original Article - Via Slashdot.)
American Civil Liberties Union : ACLU Sues Over Unconstitutional Dragnet Wiretapping Law:
Group Also Asks Secret Intelligence Court Not To Exclude Public From Any Proceedings On New Law's Constitutionality
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union filed a landmark lawsuit today to stop the government from conducting surveillance under a new wiretapping law that gives the Bush administration virtually unchecked power to intercept Americans' international e-mails and telephone calls. The case was filed on behalf of a broad coalition of attorneys and human rights, labor, legal and media organizations whose ability to perform their work - which relies on confidential communications - will be greatly compromised by the new law.
The FISA Amendments Act of 2008, passed by Congress on Wednesday and signed by President Bush today, not only legalizes the secret warrantless surveillance program the president approved in late 2001, it gives the government new spying powers, including the power to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans' international communications.
"Spying on Americans without warrants or judicial approval is an abuse of government power - and that's exactly what this law allows. The ACLU will not sit by and let this evisceration of the Fourth Amendment go unchallenged," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "Electronic surveillance must be conducted in a constitutional manner that affords the greatest possible protection for individual privacy and free speech rights. The new wiretapping law fails to provide fundamental safeguards that the Constitution unambiguously requires." read more »
Bush Signs Spy Bill, ACLU Sues - Via Threat Level:
The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Thursday over a controversial wiretapping law, challenging the constitutionality of the expanded spy powers Congress granted to the president on Wednesday.
The federal lawsuit was filed with the court just hours after Bush signed the bill into law.
The ACLU is suing on behalf of journalist and human rights groups, asking the court put a halt to Congress's legalization of Bush's formerly secret warrantless wiretapping program. The ACLU contends (.pdf) the expanded spying power violates the Constitution's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures.
On Wednesday, the Senate gave final congressional approval to a massive expansion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, finishing a year of debate over how far the U.S. government should be able to conduct blanket surveillance using telecom facilities inside the United States.
In passing the FISA Amendments Act, Congress gave the executive branch the power to order Google, AT&T and Yahoo to forward to the government all e-mails, phone calls and text messages where one party to the conversation is thought to be overseas. President Bush signed the bill into law Thursday morning, describing it as a bill that "protect[s] the liberties of our citizens while maintaining the vital flow of intelligence."
The ACLU contends those blanket powers to grab international communications of Americans without specific court orders violate the Fourth Amendment and would stymie journalists who often speak to confidential sources outside the country. read more »
Texas PC Repair Now Requires PI License - Via News and Analysis by PC Magazine :
From its Texas Rangers to its enthusiastic take on the death penalty, the Lone Star State has long been known for its aggressive stance on law enforcement. Thanks to a strange new law, it's a sting that may soon be felt by a number of the state's computer-repair people.
A recently passed law requires that Texas computer-repair technicians have a private-investigator license, according to a story posted by a Dallas-Fort Worth CW affiliate. read more »
PC Repair In Texas Now Requires a PI License - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:
JohnnyNapalm writes "In some shocking news out of Texas, PC repair will now require a PI License. Surely this stands to have a substantial impact on small repair shops around the state if upheld. Never fear, however, as the first counter-suit has already been filed."
'Yes' to surveillance law - Via The Local:
Swedish lawmakers voted late on Wednesday in favour of a controversial bill allowing all emails and phone calls to be monitored in the name of national security.
The vote, one of the most divisive in Sweden in recent years, had initially been scheduled for early Wednesday but was postponed after more than one-third of MPs voted to send the bill back to parliament's defence committee "for further preparation."
After the committee required that the centre-right government safeguard individual rights further in an annex to the law to be voted on in the autumn, the bill narrowly passed with 143 votes in favour, 138 opposed and one parliamentarian abstaining.
Critics have slammed the proposal as an attack on civil liberties that would create a "big brother" state, while supporters say it is necessary to protect the country from foreign threats.
The new law, set to take effect on January 1st, 2009, will enable the National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) -- a civilian agency despite its name -- to tap all cross-border Internet and telephone communication. read more »
Wiretapping Bill Passes Swedish Parliament, 143 to 138 - Via Slashdot :
Assar Bruno Boveri writes "Swedish lawmakers came down in favour of a fiercely debated surveillance bill in a vote at the Riksdag on Wednesday evening. Despite some cosmetic changes, Sweden's proposed surveillance law is still a monster, writes Pär Ström from the independent New Welfare Foundation." --- The Swedish newspaper DN (in Swedish; translations welcome) compares the implications of the proposed law with activities carried out by East Germany's Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (STASI).
(Read Original Article - Via Slashdot.)
New Law Protects Employees from Health Related Discrimination - Via ACLU - Privacy:
Washington, DC – The ACLU today commended Congress and the president for enacting the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which will stem a growing tide of employer and health insurer bias.
“We are heartened that a dark cloud has been lifted by enactment of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “GINA will enable Americans to use genetic tests to illuminate their health care decisions without fear of workplace retribution.” read more »
Entertainment Industry Leaned On Los Angeles Politicos to Declare Piracy a 'Public Nuisance' - Via Threat Level:
A Los Angeles County ordinance adopted last week giving authorities the legal muscle to shutter property used to produce counterfeit DVDs and CDs was the result of intense pressure from Hollywood and the recording industry.
Additionally, the so-called nuisance abatement ordinance was based, in part, on exaggerated piracy figures provided by the entertainment industry, which also gave the measure's key political backer thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, according to an examination by THREAT LEVEL.
The ordinance, similar to a New York City regulation, expands the definition of a nuisance property from those infested with drugs, gangs, gambling and prostitution to include a property producing, selling or storing counterfeited content. The entertainment industry is calling it an important milestone in combating piracy, though the measure's phrasing is focused primarily on professional pirates who produce DVDs and CDs that resemble authentic disks, and not downloaders. read more »
Idaho Joins the Ranks of the Anti-Real ID States - Via ACLU - Privacy:
WASHINGTON – This week, Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed into law legislation that prohibits the Idaho Department of Transportation from complying with the Real ID Act of 2005, a federal law requiring the states to implement a national identification card. The bill landed on the governor’s desk after receiving overwhelming bipartisan support in both the Idaho House and Senate, not receiving a single vote against passage. Idaho now joins Georgia, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington as states that have passed laws prohibiting compliance with Real ID.
"Governor Otter heeded the will of the people this week when he rejected the invasive and problematic Real ID Act," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program. "Idaho overwhelmingly rejected the Department of Homeland Security’s national ID program, with not a single legislator voting to support Real ID. read more »
CDT Corrects the Record About Security of Personal Data on REAL ID Cards - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
Today CDT sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee highlighting Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff’s recent testimony in which he wrongly asserted that the personal information stored on REAL ID cards will be safe from unauthorized access, and accused privacy advocates of spreading “misinformation.” In fact, the REAL ID Act and regulations mandate that Americans’ personal data be stored in an unsecured barcode, which can be easily scanned with widely available readers.
# CDT REAL ID Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee [PDF] April 08, 2008
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
DHS Backs Off Again in Real ID Showdown - Via ACLU Blog - Privacy & Technology:
Last week, Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath sent a letter (PDF) to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff that touted the super security features on the state's drivers' licenses, and said that state residents should not be barred from boarding planes or entering federal buildings, as DHS has threatened, if the state doesn’t comply with the Real ID Act.
Was McGrath's letter in some strange foreign language that Chertoff didn't understand? No, but that didn't stop DHS from interpreting the letter as a request for an extension of the state's compliance with the Real ID act, even though the state passed a statute last year that said it would never comply with Real ID. read more »
New Hampshire Joins Montana in Real ID Victory - Via Threat Level:
Détente has arrived in the fight between independence-minded states and a federal bureaucracy keen to claim a unanimous victory in its drive to create a de facto national identity database.
The key? The renegade states send a nice letter that is not a request for an extension of a looming deadline but touts the security of their driver's licenses, which the Department of Homeland Security accepts as an official extension request. That lets DHS save face, even as it backs down from repeated threats to punish the citizens of rogue states. read more »
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