Center for Democracy and Technology
Vice President for Public Policy at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a public policy organization focused on Internet civil liberties issues, and author of Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security
Is the Government Reading Your Email? 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 is being cited as evidence that technology and laws passed since September 11 demonstrate how vulnerable innocent Americans are to invasions of privacy by government agencies, 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?
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?"
Cyber-warfare and Weapons of Mass Annoyance Credit-card theft, bank fraud and electronic spying are cheaper and easier because of the Internet. There's evidence that China and Russia have hacked into defense contractors and even the Pentagon. Barack Obama is being urged to create a Center for Cyber Security Operations to be overseen by a special White House advisor.
War and Security in Cyber-space Attacks on the Internet may not produce blood and gore, but they do pose genuine threats to national security and the economy. Credit card theft, bank fraud and other electronic crimes are on the rise. There's evidence that China and Russia have hacked into defense contractors and even the Pentagon. Advisors to the Obama transition team are among those recommending a Center for Cyber-security Operations to be overseen by a special White House advisor. When would a cyber-attack be an act of war? Should intelligence agencies, law enforcement or the military take charge? What about individual privacy?
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.