Privacy // Current TV

Kim DotCom [MegaUpload] case sees tears, claims of betrayal

Kim DotCom isn't too big to cry.

In court yesterday, the MegaUpload founder choked up when he recalled how New Zealand police in January raided the Auckland mansion where he lived and when, as his lawyer, said he was "ripped him away from his family." The U.S. Attorney's office accuses MegaUpload of being a front for a massive piracy operation and lawyers there are trying to extradite him to this country to face criminal copyright, money laundering and wire fraud charges.

MegaUpload was one of the Web's most popular cyberlocker services before U.S. authorities shut it down. The U.S. government is trying to send a message that turning a blind eye to piracy can land site operators in jail. Critics say U.S officials are overreaching and at most the case is a civil dispute.

Back in court, as DotCom was tearing up, his lawyers seethed. DotCom, who has denied being a pirate, was in a New Zealand courtroom Wednesday seeking a judicial review of the search warrants served on him and MegaUpload. His attorneys argued that New Zealand authorities illegally seized data that wasn't relevant to the case and DotCom wants some of his possessions returned, according to Ira Rothken, the U.S.-based lawyer leading DotCom's worldwide defense.

But that's only one part of the U.S. government effort that has angered the DotCom side. According to Rothken, when DotCom's lawyers asked authorities to give them a copy of the data taken from him, they learned that New Zealand officials had shipped the information to the FBI for analysis.

Paul Davison, DotCom's lead attorney in New Zealand, told the media that he was assured by authorities that none of the data seized would leave the country without warning. Without the data, DotCom can't properly defend himself, his attorneys argue, and they feel betrayed.

"The court will determine whether the United States and New Zealand had the authorization to remove data from New Zealand absent a court order," Rothken told CNET. "This is a serious international issue and we believe it requires proportional remedy... It seems as though the United States is trying to win on tactics rather than on merits."

Some of the data seized from DotCom's personal computers was also encrypted and authorities have asked him for the passwords. He has refused to hand them over.

"On certain conditions, Kim DotCom would consider supplying them," Rothken said. "But not when data was secreted away from New Zealand, away from a New Zealand court and judicial supervision. His password on some of the data is his only protection against unreasonable intrusion."

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57440794-93/kim-dotcom-case-sees-tears-claims-of-betrayal/
-------------------------------------------------

This is going to be a significant case for the future of communication and privacy laws, if anybody cares...Kim DotCom isn't too big to cry. In court yesterday, the MegaUpload founder... more

JRBarilla
added this
5 days ago
|
0 comments

We Just Built Skynet in the Desert, Now What?

Ten years after 9/11, the National Security Agency (NSA) is close to putting the finishing touches on what will be the single biggest spy center in the country. According to James Bamford of WIRED, this new one million-square foot spy complex in the Utah Desert will actually be capable of monitoring, intercepting and de-encrypting just about any message sent over any communication network in the country. It will be capable of keeping tabs on any civilian in the U.S. or any foreigner visiting the USA. And it will all be hooked up to federal computers in Washington, giving it access to the records and databases of the most powerful government agencies in the country. If all this is starting to sound a lot like Skynet in the Terminator movies, that’s because, well, it is - minus the Schwarzenegger robots, of course.

The sheer amount of data that the NSA – and by extension the CIA, FBI and Pentagon – will be able to collect on both foreigners and its own civilians is staggering. The $2 billion center, which goes by the disarmingly bland name of the Utah Data Center, is the final piece in the puzzle for the Pentagon, which has been attempting to build a Global Information Grid ever since 9/11. Remember the Total Information Awareness program of 2003? Well, it’s now here in physical form – and it’s heavily guarded. In military parlance, it’s not a “soft” target - the facility has been hardened to the point where a 15,000-pound vehicle traveling at 50 miles per hour couldn't muscle its way inside. At its peak, this new surveillance center will be able to handle so much data that the NSA practically had to coin a new word to describe it: yottabytes. There are so many servers running this system that the annual cooling costs are estimated to be $40 million.

That’s quite an electricity bill for a "data center."

That's because this federal spy center goes far beyond what’s already being collected about us online, to explore the “Deep Web” that’s all but invisible to typical search engines. The spy center will also delve into the world of code-breaking and reverse-encryption. Even things that we think are far beyond any type of cyber-penetration will be readily available to the powers-that-be. That’s where things get downright scary. We assume that spambots and spiders slither behind us everywhere we go online, but what do we really know about all the other information that is being tracked about us? What information is being collected about us by security monitors in the streets and satellites overhead? The scope of what's being collected by the NSA is breathlessly thorough in detail, reaching into every area of our lives:

"Flowing through its servers and routers and stored in near-bottomless databases will be all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails—parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital “pocket litter.” It is, in some measure, the realization of the “total information awareness” program created during the first term of the Bush administration—an effort that was killed by Congress in 2003 after it caused an outcry over its potential for invading Americans’ privacy."

This digital "pocket litter" that each of us leaves behind us may sound harmless – but that's until all of this highly unstructured data gets dumped into a supercomputing capable of mining all this data and producing patterns and insights. This “pocket litter” is no longer trash once it can be used to construct ever-more precise profiles of everyday civilians and predict future behaviors.

“Cybersecurity” and “the war on terror” are handy little buzzwords for enabling governments to extend their cyber-surveillance over every aspect of our lives. At the end of the day, pure democracy and absolute authoritarianism are really just flip sides of the same coin. This is precisely why dystopian novels such as George Orwell’s 1984 and Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We are so terrifying. Authoritarian regimes always start out with a willingness to help - not enslave - its civilians. War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. A government that claims to protect its citizens by spying on them is a government that needs to be watched, monitored and held under strict surveillance by its own citizens.

http://bigthink.com/endless-innovation/we-just-built-skynet-in-the-desert-now-whatTen years after 9/11, the National Security Agency (NSA) is close to putting the... more

JRBarilla
added this
2 months ago
|
1 comment

You are not a Facebook CUSTOMER, You are the PRODUCT

There is a reason that Facebook is free. It is because you are not a customer, you are... more

WrapNYC
added this
5 days ago
|
0 comments

American Propaganda: It’s Not Just for Foreigners Anymore

Be afraid. Be very afraid. This would be a glorified form of astroturfing, which is... more

StewSteve
added this
7 days ago
|
0 comments

ACLU Comes Out Against CSA: The Senate’s CISPA

entropyincarnate
added this
15 days ago
|
1 comment

House Votes to Eliminate U.S. Census

The U.S. Census is a necessary tool of government, and has been in place since 1790... more

StewSteve
added this
19 days ago
|
2 comments

CISPA...the beginning of the end of online privacy?

Thom Hartmann talks with Steve Bucci, Ph.D. , Senior Research Fellow, Defense... more

LivingPong
added this
21 days ago
|
36 comments

House Passes CISPA, White House May Veto

The Stew Breaks Down CISPA -- It allows for collusion between corporate entities... more

StewSteve
added this
1 month ago
|
0 comments

Rep. Hank Johnson compares CISPA to ’1984′

By Eric W. Dolan Thursday, April 26, 2012 18:12 EDT Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) on... more

KB723
added this
1 month ago
|
18 comments

CISPA: Explained In 2 Minutes (Or Less!)

CISPA is the new Internet spying bill going to a House vote in Congress later this... more

Radical_Centrist
added this
1 month ago
|
0 comments

CISPA: Say Hello To Big Brother

CISPA may become law within DAYS; 112 co-sponsors in Congress now. If it does, you can... more

Vierotchka
added this
1 month ago
|
18 comments

Why You Should Care: SOPA (Part 1)

Why You Should Care: SOPA (E1) http://youtu.be/Jt2Aag32jYg

Radical_Centrist
added this
1 month ago
|
0 comments

Nicholas Merril Wants to Build a National Privacy-First ISP

From Declan McCullagh of CNET:

This Internet provider pledges to put your privacy first. Always.

Nicholas Merrill is planning to revolutionize online privacy with a concept as simple as it is ingenious: a telecommunications provider designed from its inception to shield its customers from surveillance.

Merrill, 39, who previously ran a New York-based Internet provider, told CNET that he's raising funds to launch a national "non-profit telecommunications provider dedicated to privacy, using ubiquitous encryption" that will sell mobile phone service and, for as little as $20 a month, Internet connectivity.

The ISP would not merely employ every technological means at its disposal, including encryption and limited logging, to protect its customers. It would also -- and in practice this is likely more important -- challenge government surveillance demands of dubious legality or constitutionality.

A decade of revelations has underlined the intimate relationship between many telecommunications companies and Washington officialdom. Leading providers including AT&T and Verizon handed billions of customer telephone records to the National Security Agency; only Qwest refused to participate. Verizon turned over customer data to the FBI without court orders. An AT&T whistleblower accused the company of illegally opening its network to the NSA, a practice that the U.S. Congress retroactively made legal in 2008.

By contrast, Merrill says his ISP, to be run by a non-profit called the Calyx Institute with for-profit subsidiaries, will put customers first. "Calyx will use all legal and technical means available to protect the privacy and integrity of user data," he says.

Merrill is in the unique position of being the first ISP exec to fight back against the Patriot Act's expanded police powers -- and win...

http://theschismatic.blogspot.com/2012/04/nicholas-merril-wants-to-build-national.html

This is a fantastic idea, and if he can launch this it will be yet another significant step towards the Internet fulfilling its mythic expectations as a savior of honest democracy for the world.From Declan McCullagh of CNET: This Internet provider pledges to put your privacy... more

JRBarilla
added this
1 month ago
|
2 comments

Supreme Court Allows Strip Searches for Minor Offenses – Perverts Everywhere Rejoice | www.thepoliticus.com

On Monday, April 2nd, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 that people may be strip-searched... more

dcherry
added this
1 month ago
|
0 comments

UK Proposes Monitoring Every Email, Call, and Text Message

Law enforcement would have access to IP addresses, email addresses, when you send an... more

Paisano1
added this
1 month ago
|
10 comments

Police Are Using Phone Tracking as a Routine Tool

WASHINGTON — Law enforcement tracking of cellphones, once the province mainly of... more

Radical_Centrist
added this
1 month ago
|
0 comments

Take It Off: The Supreme Court and Invasive Strip Searches (VIDEO)

This newest chapter in America’s police state chronicles is yet another example... more

StewSteve
added this
1 month ago
|
1 comment

Chris Hedges: "No Outcry Within Media" on NDAA

(RT) We had reported on the show that a group of political activists and journalists... more

KB723
added this
1 month ago
|
83 comments

Facebook to users: Don’t give your boss your password

Don't listen to Facebook, just get rid of your account and you won't even... more

maasanova
added this
2 months ago
|
8 comments

The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)

The spring air in the small, sand-dusted town has a soft haze to it, and clumps of... more

joeeddy
added this
2 months ago
|
2 comments

select your country

Community Spotlight

TAGS

tagged w/ Privacy

top videos

find current on tv

find current online

recent comments

© 2012 Current TV, LLC All Rights Reserved

the basics

follow us online

tools

stay in touch

© 2012 Current TV, LLC
All Rights Reserved