Posted on 11/12/2007 8:43:41 AM PST by imd102
(AP) - WASHINGTON-As Congress debates new rules for government eavesdropping, a top intelligence official says it is time that people in the United States changed their definition of privacy.
Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence...Kerr's comments come as Congress is taking a second look at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Kerr said at an October intelligence conference in San Antonio that he finds concerns that the government may be listening in odd when people are "perfectly willing for a green-card holder at an (Internet service provider) who may or may have not have been an illegal entrant to the United States to handle their data."
Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an advocacy group that defends online free speech, privacy and intellectual property rights, said Kerr's argument ignores both privacy laws and American history.
"Anonymity has been important since the Federalist Papers were written under pseudonyms," Opsahl said. "The government has tremendous power: the police power, the ability to arrest, to detain, to take away rights. Tying together that someone has spoken out on an issue with their identity is a far more dangerous thing if it is the government that is trying to tie it together."
Opsahl also said Kerr ignores the distinction between sacrificing protection from an intrusive government and voluntarily disclosing information in exchange for a service.
"There is something fundamentally different from the government having information about you than private parties," he said. "We shouldn't have to give people the choice between taking advantage of modern communication tools and sacrificing their privacy." "It's just another 'trust us, we're the government,'" he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.lp.findlaw.com ...
Seems like a strange thing to say. Is he saying we can only question either the ISPs or the Government, but not both? I mean, just because a "green-cardholder" may serve me at Wendy's doesn't mean I shouldn't also be concerned the government inspector who is making sure the place is up to snuff. Maybe I am reading too much into this on a Monday morning, but seems "odd."
BZZZZT -- WRONG!
In other words...make things more relative.
“Maybe I am reading too much into this on a Monday morning”
You’re not. Scary statements.
And Still Thinking says we need to redefine "intelligence official".
If Hillary wins, she’ll redefine it for us just fine.
She will take privacy away from us — for the “common good” of course.
Yeah, it really will be for the good of others. It’s just that she’s an “other”.
If Bill Clinton’s people had done or said this Republicans would have been outraged. GW Bush’s people have been doing this to us for over 7 years now with his so called new ideas and new programs. We hear every excuse and blessing in the world for his actions but few call it what it really is. Tyranny.
Well one thing is for certain isn't it. GW Bush has been shredding the Bill of Rights and Constitution for 7 years and all the GOP can do is sing "For he's a jolly good fellow". It's wrong and it may take living under another Clinton for the Stupid Party which is now the GOP to finally wake up!!! You can't blame DEMs for the Republican Party Tyranny.
Our government is trying to redefine ‘’freedom’’.
Glad to hear I am not the only to find this troubling. I agree with the comment about the uproar this would have created if it would have come from a Dem-administration, but everyone tends to overlook this kind of stuff when it is coming from “our guy.”
Just imagine if hillary would have the information available with which to further punish anyone that speaks out against her.
We’ve already seen the use of the IRS to punish.
Then we will have GW Bush and his merry gang of friends nd loyal supporters to thank for making Hillary a far bigger threat than her husband could have ever dreamed of being.
This thanks to the programs and policies the Blind Sheep and GOP congress freely gave the Bush Administration over the past 7 years we have been set up for disaster. Powers the founders never intended for any POTUS to have. Now the bill comes due.
This whole defending-the-nation thing would be much easier if every citizen and non-citizen would submit to having a GPS transceiver/microphone/video camera/password key implanted. If you’re not with that, you’re with the terrorists. Freedom is for people with something to hide.
The government can “redefine” any word, after all, privacy and marriage are just words.
I can’t help but thing that this fairly innocuous statement is going to be turned into something heinously anti-Bush.
The guy didn’t say that the government was doing anything new. But the words ‘privacy’ and ‘anonymity’ are NOT THE SAME. They were NOT THE SAME in the 1950’s or the 1750s either.
Privacy does not mean your ability to live in society without anybody knowing that you exist. If we don’t want illegals in the country, then we should be concerned with privacy but more concerned with less ANONYMITY. Anonymity is what Ted Kacsinsky and every illegal tries to maintain. And unless you are trying to escape society, you don’t actually want anonymity.
If you do, I can give you some tips about staying off the grid.
GW Bush has been shredding the Bill of Rights and Constitution for 7 years and all the GOP can do is sing "For he's a jolly good fellow". It's wrong and it may take living under another Clinton for the Stupid Party which is now the GOP to finally wake up!!! You can't blame DEMs for the Republican Party Tyranny.
Sad but true.
Only Nixon could go to China. Only Bill Clinton could cut welfare. Only W could get away with treating the Constitution like a "damn piece of paper."
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