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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWaPo "hedged its stunning claim" about companies giving "Government direct access to their servers"
Henry Blodget
Yesterday, the Washington Post reported a shocking story about how the FBI and National Security Agency had partnered with Google, Facebook, and many other tech companies to spy on the tech companies' hundreds of millions of users...government agencies, the Post said, were "tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio, video, photographs, e-mails, documents and connection logs that enable analysts to track a persons movements and contacts over time."
<...>
The Post story described a "career intelligence officer" as being so horrified by the power and privacy intrusion of this surveillance system that the officer was helping to leak the news..."They quite literally can watch your ideas form as you type, the officer reportedly told the Post.
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That change is important. The direct-access claim changes from a fact asserted by the Washington Post to a claim made in a document the Washington Post has seen--a document that might be wrong.
The idea that Google, Facebook, Apple, et al, had voluntarily given the government direct unfettered access to their servers always seemed far-fetched.
- more -
http://www.businessinsider.com/washington-post-updates-spying-story-2013-6
People are discussing the target of the program, but few seem to be addressing the bizarre friggin claim in WaPo story about these companies giving the government direct access to their servers.
Obama: PRISM Doesnt Apply To U.S. Citizens
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022965452
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Major Hogwash
(17,656 posts)They can kiss it all they want to!!
WillyT
(72,631 posts)ProSense
(116,464 posts)I mean, it appears they got the story wrong on a number of levels. For all we know, the document is bullshit.
BumRushDaShow
(129,953 posts)because the grassy poutrage must be fed!!
bunnies
(15,859 posts)Looks like some are not convinced that slide show is legit.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)bunnies
(15,859 posts)Especially considering WaPo's walking back of the story. hmmm.
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)Probably put that together.
bunnies
(15,859 posts)So I wouldnt be surprised!
DevonRex
(22,541 posts)I think about it. Oh my. Oh dear. [url=http://www.desismileys.com/][img][/img][/url]
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)okaawhatever
(9,478 posts)spy on 340,000,000 people. The New York Times also changed their "the President has lost all credibility" and added "on this matter".
Cha
(298,021 posts)Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!
Thank ProSense!
usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)I can tell you that it is required that we provide a back door for the government, to more easily access the data that traverses it, on every server we sell.
though it was always assumed that our gov would not abuse this privilege considering our constitutional protections but boy were we wrong.
911 really has changed everything.
ProSense
(116,464 posts)http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022968640
DCKit
(18,541 posts)cascadiance
(19,537 posts)Here's an old post of what I noticed of some curious timing of events around how it appeared google was doctoring he search hits (or lack thereof) retrieved both for google alerts messages and for its news search hits regarding Sibel Edmonds coincident to the timing of the arrests of an Israeli spy in our midst...
With this new information, I wonder if its worth revisiting some of these past "conjectures" that many of us had of how corporate America might have been collaborating with the NSA, etc. in the government.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=39220
This was a post for something that happened almost seven years ago... But perhaps it is relevant today?
gulliver
(13,205 posts)NYT blew it's rep on Judith Miller. And Wapo is circling the toilet drain when it collaborates with the likes of Glenn Greenwald. Anyone at the controls at Wapo?