On September 2, 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth District, in United States v. Moalin, said the NSA's mass surveillance program outed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013 was illegal. We conclude that the government may have violated the Fourth Amendment and did violate the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) when it collected the telephony metadata … [Read more...]
Text Message Privacy: Did the Supreme Court Get It Right?
On March 27, 2010, the Owen Sound Police Service obtained a general warrant under s. 487.01 and an assistance order under s. 487.02 of the Criminal Code. The warrant named two Telus wireless subscribers and required the telecom giant to provide the Owen Sound Police Service with copies of any text messages stored on Telus’ computer database that were sent or received by … [Read more...]
Why do Criminals Go Free When Police Screw Up?
In response to my Friday column Cops Screw Up: Drug Dealer Jermaine Barrows-Taylor Escapes Illegal Handgun Conviction, one reader shared his frustration with this case specifically, as well as these types of cases in general. I do not understand why police screwups result in criminals going free. If police illegally search a vehicle and find a body, does the driver get a … [Read more...]
Revenge Porn: Former RCMP officer pleads guilty
Unfortunately, the identity of the latest entrant into the RCMP’s Hall of Shame cannot be named due to a publication ban imposed to protect the identity of the victim, also an RCMP member. Here's what we know or can glean from the few news reports available. At the time of the offence, specifically publishing an intimate image without consent, violating … [Read more...]
DNA Databases, Privacy Rights and Law Enforcement
You've probably seen the ads for Ancestry.com's DNA testing. Their pitch, if you're even slightly curious about your own family history, is compelling: Uncover your ethnic mix, discover distant relatives, and find new details about your unique family history with AncestryDNA®. How do you refuse that premise? My own son-in-law used 23andMe to test his DNA to see if he could … [Read more...]
Rachel Small: RCMP Due Diligence or Violation of Privacy?
Did you know the RCMP has a Tactical Internet Intelligence Unit? Or that this unit may scour social media looking for information about you? Neither did Rachel Small, a political activist from Toronto, until a Canadian Press reporter gave her a copy of the RCMP's 6-page report on her. "I found it kind of creepy and unsettling because of the way that they were compiling … [Read more...]
Apple Violates Your Privacy Rights Again
[Update 2020-20-11 22:10 hrs: Added info about Apple suspending its "grading" program and updated links to sources.] "Siri, violate my privacy..." You don't expect your phone or tablet to spy on you. Last year news broke that Siri, Apple's virtual assistant, sends audio of sexual encounters and other private moments recorded without users’ knowledge to human ‘graders’ for … [Read more...]
Washington DC Judge Shuts Down US DOJ Fishing Expedition
Cops love vaguely-worded search warrants with a wide-open net. Why they love them is no secret. These kinds of search warrants are fishing expeditions. These search warrants are massive gill nets tossed into the ocean of humanity in search of a crime to prosecute. They don't even care which crime. Any crime will do. That's the type of broad warrant the US Department of … [Read more...]
4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Denies Your Right to Privacy
I'm forever baffled by morons wearing robes who believe violating our Right to Privacy is perfectly okay. The latest morons in black robes to defecate on our rights is the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia. These robed dipshits ruled, by a vote of 12-3, that police do NOT require a warrant to access your cell phone's location data. Wireless companies, … [Read more...]
Salt Lake City Park Apartments Demands Tenants Like them on Facebook or face Eviction
It's one of the more bizarre violations of our Right to Privacy I've ever come across: "friend" your apartment building's Facebook page or be found in breach of your rental agreement. That could mean eviction for those who refuse to "like" their apartment building on the social media platform within the 5-day window provided for in the contract. What is even more bizarre … [Read more...]