The email service Lavabit recently shut down rather than release all their records to the NSA. Lavabit's mission was to provide private and secure encrypted email services. Following that, a similar service called Silent Circle closed their doors as well. A spokesperson for Silent Circle issued a statement that nothing was truly anonymous, and that if you want privacy, "you may wish to avoid email altogether."
As of today, Pamela Jones has shut down the Groklaw blog for the same reasons.
The issue is twofold. The first problem is that the NSA can get a rubber stamp from a FISA court to collect metadata on electronic communications. You won't know if you're being monitored.
The second problem is the blanket abuse of National Security Letters. Under Section 505 of the Patriot Act, the FBI can issue a letter to the administrator of a web service demanding any sort of information they want. The recipient can't discuss the contents or even the existence of the letter with anyone, nor do they have any legal right to refuse.
They've gone after librarians and phone companies. They've gone after websites. You won't even know if something you read or wrote is under scrutiny. Needless to say, aliases don't do much to shield your identity. Be wary of what you post online. A simple crack about fertilizer and jackboots could get you in hot water.
In case you're inclined to do jazz hands and scream "I never voted for that," you did. Here are the tallies for the House and Senate votes on the FISA expansion that allowed for this situation.
As of today, Pamela Jones has shut down the Groklaw blog for the same reasons.
The issue is twofold. The first problem is that the NSA can get a rubber stamp from a FISA court to collect metadata on electronic communications. You won't know if you're being monitored.
The second problem is the blanket abuse of National Security Letters. Under Section 505 of the Patriot Act, the FBI can issue a letter to the administrator of a web service demanding any sort of information they want. The recipient can't discuss the contents or even the existence of the letter with anyone, nor do they have any legal right to refuse.
They've gone after librarians and phone companies. They've gone after websites. You won't even know if something you read or wrote is under scrutiny. Needless to say, aliases don't do much to shield your identity. Be wary of what you post online. A simple crack about fertilizer and jackboots could get you in hot water.
In case you're inclined to do jazz hands and scream "I never voted for that," you did. Here are the tallies for the House and Senate votes on the FISA expansion that allowed for this situation.
