An FBI Error Opens a Window into Government Demands for Private Info

An FBI Error Opens a Window into Government Demands for Private Info(fivethirtyeight.com)

96 points by pzaich 9 years ago | 14 comments

What I don't get, is that for a country that seems to go to absolutes in other areas related to their constitution(e.g 2nd Amendment) where is the NRA equivalent on this one. Something like the National Free Speech Association that advocates for all forms of speech/expression and does not give in on anything that could take from that.

komaromy 9 years ago | |

The NRA's past is grounded in the interests of gun manufacturers. There's no equivalent industry with an existential interest in selling as much free speech as possible. Media orgs would only care if an appreciable portion of what they did was actual journalism.

idlewords 9 years ago | |

Traditionally this role has been played by the ACLU and by major news organizations.

mtgx 9 years ago | | |

And the vast majority of media entities now just do the bidding of the power (for one side or another), while ACLU supporters have gone into hibernation thinking the civil rights warrior, Barrack Obama, will protect them. That's unlike the NRA activists who are always highly vigilant about any encroachment on their gun rights.

My hope is that although Trump will probably go to the extremes for surveillance and other rights violations, at least now more people will start to wake up and realize what kind of power they're allowing the government to have while they "don't care about that issue".

wyager 9 years ago | |

Two factors:

1. There is more money involved (both professional and donated) in securing gun rights.

2. Gun rights have a stronger legal basis than privacy rights, which only exist at a federal level due to fairly recent Supreme Court rulings (last 100 years).

Also, the NRA actually isn't a great gun rights org. They're more of a hunter's rights org. For example, they supported the current excise tax on guns that funds public land management (good for hunters). The Second Amendment Foundation is a much better organization for general firearm and self-defense rights.

For other rights, we have great orgs like the EFF and ACLU. They're just working with a weaker legal basis.

godelski 9 years ago | |

There is a lack of care and fear. The "If you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to fear" argument is common. The country is in a state of fear (see Trump's association with Muslims and ISIS). The combination is not great for free speech rights.

Not to mention that the NRA has a lot of funding behind it.

coldcode 9 years ago |

I wonder if we will ever see a challenge by an NSL recipient with a gag clause who willingly discloses the NSL and thus generates standing to challenge it before the Supreme Court. Sure you might wind up in Gitmo, but without standing you cannot challenge and by following the NSL to the letter all of us lose.

sctb 9 years ago |

Related discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13083180

dboreham 9 years ago |

Was that typed on a typewriter???

digler999 9 years ago | |

probably opsec. kind of hard to develop a 0-day for a Selectric.

ficklepickle 9 years ago | | |

Not impossible to bug, though. The Soviets did it in a US embassy in the 70's.

http://www.cryptomuseum.com/covert/bugs/selectric/

dboreham 9 years ago | | |

Fair point.

avh02 9 years ago |

you would think the EFF would have a better scanner.

jedimastert 9 years ago |

$10 says they've already gotten another one with a gag order