The DOJ is quietly trying to remake the rules of internet surveillance. Even Google is concerned.

I didn't see anything previous on this but it's very important the word gets out.

The FBI is quietly working on a significant change to "Criminal Procedure 41". What is Criminal Procedure 41?

It's basically the only principle holding up the 4th amendment of the US Constitution as it applies to the internet. It requires local judicial due process to search computers in a certain locality. In other words, to search a computer in say, Fresno county, a judge with jurisdiction would need to sign off on search warrants.

That could change under the rule change being sought by the DOJ (i.e. the executive branch). Would you believe Google is pushing back? I guess it must really be a whale of a change and of no commercial value to them. It might take awhile to process this one so think about it good and hard. The DOJ is working on an obscure rule change in a sub-committee that will essentially remove all intersection with the 4th amendment and allow US "law enforcement: to violate sovereign nations at will.

The push to change an arcane federal rule "raises a number of monumental and highly complex constitutional, legal, and geopolitical concerns that should be left to Congress to decide," wrote Richard Salgado, Google's director for law enforcement and information security.

Read the full letter from Google here.

As always these rules are more important for what they don't mention than for what they do. That's the design. According to the center for democracy and technology:

The first change seems to be designed to allow law enforcement to investigate crimes that involve the use of online anonymity tools, such as Tor. However, as CDT’s testimony argues, it would reach far beyond just Tor to encompass any use of computers that may change the route their network traffic takes to reach a destination. This behavior is exactly what many businesses demand of their employees when they turn on a secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) to connect with confidential documents back at the office or to use a proxy that examines their traffic for viruses and other malware. This could even go so far as to implicate people who misreport the town in which they live on social networks like Facebook or Twitter. The simple fact is that there are many, many ways to intentionally or unintentionally “conceal through technological means” a device’s location, and most of those techniques are regularly used for completely legitimate online behavior that has nothing to do with crime.

The second change seems to be aimed at botnets. Botnets are networks of hijacked computers that malicious hackers can direct to commit crime at massive scales, like distributed denial-of-service attacks that can bring down websites. However, this part of the proposed rule change would allow a warrant to be issued based on a computer being “damaged” as specified in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The statute’s definition of “damage” is very broad, encompassing any type of intentional damage to a computer. That opens this authority to be much broader than botnets, and it would in fact reach hundreds of millions of computers around the world that have been infected with garden-variety malware and viruses.

So this is a big deal. It will affect you if you are reading this. This government, led by the Executive branch is cementing it's control over the internet. Make no mistake, this is for use domestically. Most, if not all computers made by US, European and Japanese companies have multiple hooks for various covert exploits. If you are conspiracy minded at all, you might recognize how a cyber "false flag" event can be used to do all sorts of sinister things, including taking the internet down completely.

As always, research on your own & reserve judgement. If, after your own investigation, you see this as a threat, share this information and make them drop it or at least go to congress for legislation instead of making a slimy rule change in an obscure judicial committee.

Don't go down with Google in the position of being the sole defender of your Constitutional rights. Act like you deserve those rights in the first place.

Make them dependant on such, then change its mainframe and alter how they use it.

Sounds like a mind f#.

Ah well; I have a mind/brain more powerful then any man made processor. If the Internet goes, guess my new connection will be with planet Earth, creation, and myself :3

Go ahead gov', change it, alter it take it away. I'll still be breathing

The internet is one of the most useful technological advances that humans have created in the last 25 years. A way to instantly connect us with eachother and around the world. Instant information about anything, pulled out of thin air. It's even been used as a tool for mass social upheaval.

But then there are some folks that don't find it a big deal. Can't bother to use it. My parents wouldn't care for instance, because they don't use it. But then again, they don't understand it, and I do.

The future of media, and you are going to be alright with your trusted government taking control of it as well as it's content?

I don't mind signing a petition or two.

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

this part of the proposed rule change would allow a warrant to be issued based on a computer being “damaged” as specified in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The statute’s definition of “damage” is very broad, encompassing any type of intentional damage to a computer. That opens this authority to be much broader than botnets, and it would in fact reach hundreds of millions of computers around the world that have been infected with garden-variety malware and viruses.
this part of the proposed rule change would allow a warrant to be issued based on a computer being “damaged” as specified in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The statute’s definition of “damage” is very broad, encompassing any type of intentional damage to a computer. That opens this authority to be much broader than botnets, and it would in fact reach hundreds of millions of computers around the world that have been infected with garden-variety malware and viruses.

So, sounds like when they break a window so they can investigate the broken window?

Technically, a simple script could qualify.

Why does it feel like every day I wake up further down a rabbit hole with this country?

It's almost like we're just waiting for father to come through the front door and smack our big brother upside the head for being absurd. Only our "big brother" in this case is the government, and our father isn't coming home.

a reply to: greencmp

The "broken windows" analogy is accurate on multiple levels.

Don't worry. The FCC and the FEC will come along and make it all "fair" for all. Nothing to see here.

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

"New York♬ New York♫"

originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

this part of the proposed rule change would allow a warrant to be issued based on a computer being “damaged” as specified in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The statute’s definition of “damage” is very broad, encompassing any type of intentional damage to a computer. That opens this authority to be much broader than botnets, and it would in fact reach hundreds of millions of computers around the world that have been infected with garden-variety malware and viruses.
this part of the proposed rule change would allow a warrant to be issued based on a computer being “damaged” as specified in the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). The statute’s definition of “damage” is very broad, encompassing any type of intentional damage to a computer. That opens this authority to be much broader than botnets, and it would in fact reach hundreds of millions of computers around the world that have been infected with garden-variety malware and viruses.

So, sounds like when they break a window so they can investigate the broken window?

Technically, a simple script could qualify.

Considering some of the other threads recently the gov and big business are the ones who placed the window there to begin with. The wording pretty much means any computer they deem "compromised" or suspected of being a zombie in a botnet army is open to being seized and searched.

They placed the noose around our necks to create the justification for tightening it. Pretty soon the floor will fall out from underneath us all..

I have always felt that much of the malicious activity on the net outside of some criminal rings has all been manufactured by gov and business. Even piracy which may have initially began as something underground is most likely perpetrated from the top either to hurt competition or to create a justification for tailoring the laws in favor of corporations. Same old problem ,reaction, solution.

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

Thanks for the information

At some point it will be clear even to the slowest people that US government stands for evil, destruction, regression, oppression

and we can throw Luciferianism in the stew as well

a reply to: Elementalist

If they mess with it, people will need to create their own open source internet.