Month: December 2020

Patriot Act Used By The FBI To Collect Internet Browsing Data, Contradicting Claims Made To Oversight

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

By Tim Cushing | TechDirt | December 8, 2020

The NSA shut down its bulk phone records collection — authorized under Section 215 — after it became apparent it wasn’t worth the effort. Reforms put in place by the USA Freedom Act prevented the agency from collecting it all and sorting it out later. Instead, it had to approach telcos with actual targeted requests and only haul away responsive records. The NSA somehow still managed to overcollect records, putting it in violation of the law. The NSA hinted the program had outlived its usefulness anyway, suggesting it had far better collections available under other authorities that it would rather not subject to greater scrutiny.

Patriot Act Used By The FBI To Collect Internet Browsing Data, Contradicting Claims Made To Oversight

Government Efforts to Counter Propaganda Risk Undermining Public Trust

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Government Efforts to Counter Propaganda Risk Undermining Public Trust

This is not helped by worrying statements in recent UK Government documents on ‘information manoeuvre’ and Integrated Operating Concept for 2025. Former clarity has been replaced by declarations that “the old distinction between foreign and domestic defence is increasingly irrelevant.” Calls for “innovation and experimentation” accompany statements that “our legal, ethical and moral framework needs updating to deny our adversaries the opportunity to undermine our values.” Britain’s MOD must provide citizens with clearer information on how it intends to ‘update’ its moral framework.

RICK WILSON INTERVIEW, PART 2: THE LINCOLN PROJECT CO-FOUNDER ON KILLING ADS THAT DON’T WORK—AND WHY STEVE BANNON ‘MUST BE DESTROYED’

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

RICK WILSON INTERVIEW, PART 2: THE LINCOLN PROJECT CO-FOUNDER ON KILLING ADS THAT DON’T WORK—AND WHY STEVE BANNON ‘MUST BE DESTROYED’

But be careful, though. Is Steve Bannon back in prison? It’s hard to know where he is at the moment.

Bannon and I have a lot of history. In 2015, when I came out against Trump, a person inside Breitbart News sent me an internal Slack from Bannon.

And Bannon said, “I want you to go after Wilson. I want you to go after his kids, his family, his wife, his business, everything. I want to destroy him.” And someone said, “Yeah, he’s gonna punch you back, Steve,” and Steve wrote, “This will be fun.” So, since then, I have pursued Steve Bannon like a wild animal. And I will never—Steven Bannon will never be off the hook for me. Once he goes back to prison, once he gets into prison, I’m gonna … I’m only just starting.