Patriot Act allows Feds to monitor your t.v.

I had a conversation with an uncle of mine shortly after 9/11 happened and we really got in to discussing the government and topics that he was aware of such as underground bases and blah blah blah , but I found out that his uncle who's name is "Jack" worked for the CIA for years and had traveled all over the world but he told my uncle a few things about what the government and its intentions were anyways to make a long story short he told me they can monitor what you are watching on television and heres an article that states just that:




Could the federal government find out what you're watching on TV? Even if you're not the subject of a criminal investigation?

If you're a satellite TV or TiVo owner, the answer is yes, according to legal experts and industry officials.

Under the USA Patriot Act, passed a month after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the feds can force a noncable TV operator to disclose every show you have watched. The government just has to say that the request is related to a terrorism investigation, said Jay Stanley, a technology expert for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Under Section 215 of the Act, you don't even have to be the target of the investigation. Plus, your TV provider is prohibited from informing you that the feds have requested your personal information.


www.tvweek.com...





[Edited on 30-11-2003 by thehippiedude]

Its not quite ae scary as it sounds. Look at the article again it says they can get your records for PAY PER VIEW.
You basic cable service has no means of collecting what channel you are watching and generally the Reverse path is not used for anything but system data. Unless you have a cable box you could not be "monitored". They can "see" what channels you are getting but not what shows or times you are watching. Anyone living in an Apartment complex would not be subject either Because of the way the signal is pushed into the complex (generally). Ask around to your friends and see how many are getting channels they are not supposed to get and not being billed for it! If the companies can see what shows you are watching then why would so many people get un-authorised channels?
I think they are talking more along the lines of "what movie did you order last friday?" This also applies more to the Satallite companies as well.
Now is that Scary? It could be!

I think it is possible, if you own a satellite tv broadcast, interceptors can determine what you are viewing currently, as well as what you've viewed in the past.

I believe that this has been going on in the past ever since satellites were introduced to homes.

How do you think major tv networks find out what their ratings are for how much people are watching them.

Echelon spells no such thing as privacy.

I know it's not the point here, but what kind of usefull info could they really obtain from this? anyone?

Originally posted by exdog
I know it's not the point here, but what kind of usefull info could they really obtain from this? anyone?

To prove in a court of law that what you were viewing is related to terrorism, or that you have been heading in that direction, that's what I think!

see what things you are interested in and to gather general information about you.

[Edited on 1-12-2003 by infinite]

Originally posted by infinite
see what things you are interested in and to gather general information about you.

[Edited on 1-12-2003 by infinite]

A young juvenile got arrested by the FBI for hacking in the internet to some secure website. He got caught with agents sporting guns at his home to arrest him.

What they confiscated as his house was a Book he was reading--It was a Star Trek book, and they took it!

The government are wanting to find out as well what you are reading, hoping to retrieve information from libraries and such. It's all amazing stuff!

Originally posted by IMMORTAL

Originally posted by exdog
I know it's not the point here, but what kind of usefull info could they really obtain from this? anyone?

To prove in a court of law that what you were viewing is related to terrorism, or that you have been heading in that direction, that's what I think!

but unless you had access to aljazeera, what could they constitiute as such info? if they WERE after you, they could find a hundred other ways to prove such political leanings...

the harvesting of information in this matter is similar to this thread

www.abovetopsecret.com...

the manpower, storage and processing needed to acomplish such data compiling would be far to costly.


I'm not dismissing your fears, just questioning the feasability of such methods of data collection.

Originally posted by IMMORTAL
I think it is possible, if you own a satellite tv broadcast, interceptors can determine what you are viewing currently, as well as what you've viewed in the past.

I believe that this has been going on in the past ever since satellites were introduced to homes.

How do you think major tv networks find out what their ratings are for how much people are watching them.

Echelon spells no such thing as privacy.

It doesnt quite work that way. When a satallite bounces a signal to your little dish on the side of your house. It bounces the entire Frequency range of the satallite company (broadband) I know in cable TV this is between 50mhz and 750mhz I am not quite sure about satallite. Anyway the signal comes in to your receiver at your house and is split by that box into the channels you are allowed to see. All switching is done at the box so there is no change of signal being broadcast back up the pipe to the satallite. It is mostly a oneway street like I said the reverse path is rarely used. I know a friend of mine owns a satallite dish and it requires a telephone dial-up connection to order pay-per-view. NOW that could be monitored and information gathered from it but again this applies just to satallite owners as cable companies can only collect data from BOX owners. Of which most people are not!

Television companies use Nealson families to determine through statistical methods how many people are watching a program. Nealson families are normal people (?) who have a special box on there TV that they use to send information to the Nealson company which shows what shows they watched and when. Its been the death of many good shows and the painful prolonging of bad ones!

They do this already.


Opps, I see you beat me to it.



[Edited on 1-12-2003 by HowardRoark]

Originally posted by GRENADIER

Originally posted by IMMORTAL
I think it is possible, if you own a satellite tv broadcast, interceptors can determine what you are viewing currently, as well as what you've viewed in the past.

I believe that this has been going on in the past ever since satellites were introduced to homes.

How do you think major tv networks find out what their ratings are for how much people are watching them.

Echelon spells no such thing as privacy.

It doesnt quite work that way. When a satallite bounces a signal to your little dish on the side of your house. It bounces the entire Frequency range of the satallite company (broadband) I know in cable TV this is between 50mhz and 750mhz I am not quite sure about satallite. Anyway the signal comes in to your receiver at your house and is split by that box into the channels you are allowed to see. All switching is done at the box so there is no change of signal being broadcast back up the pipe to the satallite. It is mostly a oneway street like I said the reverse path is rarely used. I know a friend of mine owns a satallite dish and it requires a telephone dial-up connection to order pay-per-view. NOW that could be monitored and information gathered from it but again this applies just to satallite owners as cable companies can only collect data from BOX owners. Of which most people are not!

Television companies use Nealson families to determine through statistical methods how many people are watching a program. Nealson families are normal people (?) who have a special box on there TV that they use to send information to the Nealson company which shows what shows they watched and when. Its been the death of many good shows and the painful prolonging of bad ones!

Very Usefull info...I was aware of this, but does the same now go for the satellite radio?
just wondering?
thanks again

Patriot Act allows Feds to monitor your t.v.

This is one aspect of the Patriot Act that I don't have to worry about. I don't watch TV.

For those of you questioning the significance of obtaining such information, I have one word for you: Privacy.

Digital cable allows the supplier to know exactly what you are watching and when.

I notice how hard the local supplier in my city is trying to push this technology on people.

Originally posted by Bangin

Patriot Act allows Feds to monitor your t.v.

This is one aspect of the Patriot Act that I don't have to worry about. I don't watch TV.

For those of you questioning the significance of obtaining such information, I have one word for you: Privacy.

I respect both of your statements

I just think paranoia gets the better of some people, there are far more invasive methods of gathering information...seriously, do you think they give a damn what you watch on TV? the electric pacifier is simply that...the records of what videos you watch would be 100 times easier to track...

but I wholeheartedly agree, it's none of their bussiness either way, guilty, or innocent

Originally posted by infinite
see what things you are interested in and to gather general information about you.

[Edited on 1-12-2003 by infinite]

you are gvrnmnt related? what?*strains ears*...oh i wasnt supposed to mention that
my bad

I find it rather amusing that you're all so worried about this. In the UK we have to pay a yearly license fee to watch television. Roughly once a year so the Government sends out unmarked detector vans, which trawl the streets scanning for any TV's being used without a license. With the equipment inside they can tell exactly which channel you're watching and which programme. If you're name ain't on the list of license payers and you have an active TV in your house, there'll be a knock on the door, followed by a hefty fine.

There's nothing sinister about it, it's a way of ensuring everyone pays the legal fee. However, no doubt if such a system were in place in the US it'd be seen as a covert Government intelligence gathering information infringing on the rights of the individual.

The moral of the stroy? Take a reality check, people.

Originally posted by SabbyJ
I find it rather amusing that you're all so worried about this. In the UK we have to pay a yearly license fee to watch television. Roughly once a year so the Government sends out unmarked detector vans, which trawl the streets scanning for any TV's being used without a license. With the equipment inside they can tell exactly which channel you're watching and which programme. If you're name ain't on the list of license payers and you have an active TV in your house, there'll be a knock on the door, followed by a hefty fine.

There's nothing sinister about it, it's a way of ensuring everyone pays the legal fee. However, no doubt if such a system were in place in the US it'd be seen as a covert Government intelligence gathering information infringing on the rights of the individual.

The moral of the stroy? Take a reality check, people.

you have to PAY to watch TV???????????


normal tv ?? not cable right? ( and no I'm aussie not american)

sorry but that's ridiculous.

The feds do have a device that can be used to evesdrop
on any television thats in your home if its on. like a bug
using the speaker as a mike.Its the same principal just reversed.
Cable ready tvs connected to a cable provider can provide even more survailance capabilities.

And your worried if Uncle Sam knows your watching porn

Theres a simple solution to this, don't watch TV.

Its all brainwashing / programming anyway.


PS - Buy your books with CA$H when possiable.

[Edited on 3-12-2003 by SaltyBeachedRat]