Is the Government Reading Your Email?
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The incident that forced a CIA director to resign is being cited as evidence that technology and laws passed since September 11 are turning the US into a "surveillance state." Why don't constitutional protections apply to e-mail? What's the role of Google, Facebook and the Cloud? Also, a possible cease-fire in the works in Israel-Gaza conflict, and trying to save Twinkies and 18,000 jobs.
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Reporter's Notebook
Twinkies Cannot Die: Hostess Bosses, Union in Mediation Talks ()
After a strike by its union, bankrupt Hostess Brands announced last week it would go out of business. Boxes of Twinkies are now up for sale on Craigslist and eBay for thousands of dollars apiece. But yesterday, a judge asked both sides to try mediation. Four thousand people have signed a petition asking President Obama to nationalize Twinkies to "prevent our nation from losing our creamy center," but for 18,000 workers, the demise of the bakery is no joke -- and potential buyers of some of America's best known names are circling. Tiffany Tsu is business reporter for the Los Angeles Times.
Guests:
- Tiffany Hsu: Los Angeles Times, @tiffhsulatimes
Making News
Possible Cease-Fire in the Works in Israel-Gaza Conflict ()
As we began broadcasting and recording this program moments ago, there was hope that the hour for a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel had arrived. We get an update from Sheera Frankel of NPR and the McClatchy Newspapers, who joins us from the border between Israel and Gaza, and Avi Issacharoff, Palestinian and Arab affairs correspondent for Ha'aretz.
Guests:
- Sheera Frenkel: McClatchy Newspapers and NPR, @sheeraf
- Avi Issacharoff: Ha'aretz, @issacharoff
Main Topic
David Petraeus, Paula Broadwell… and You ()
An FBI agent told superiors that his friend Jill Kelly was subjected to e-mail harassment. The subsequent investigation did not uncover a crime, but it ultimately forced David Petraeus to resign as Director of the CIA. The incident demonstrates how vulnerable innocent Americans are to invasions of privacy by government agencies. Under current law, there is no expectation of privacy for e-mail or other telecommunications, which go through third parties like Google or Facebook. The Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search does not apply, creating the potential for abuse by government agents. Can the law catch up with technology, or has the US already become a "surveillance state?"
Guests:
- Declan McCullagh: CNET, @declanm
- Julian Sanchez: Cato Institute, @normative
- Paul Rosenzweig: Red Branch Consulting
- Jim Dempsey: Center for Democracy and Technology
Links:
- Electronic Communications Privacy Act
- McCullagh on bill allowing government access to e-mail and other digital files
- Dempsey's 'Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security'
- Sanchez on collateral damage of our surveillance state
- Rosenzweig on Obama's Cyber Executive Order
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