Report: Verizon Has Been Turning Over Call Logs for All of their Customers to the NSA

[FunN4Lo]

Good stuff. How about everyone call VZW and complain. Lets pick a date and time and the DF community can do it all at once and shut the system down.

 

[Dalvik_Cache]

Let me first start by saying I am not taking sides on this issue, I simply want to shed some light on facts surrounding it.


Currently the NSA is collecting call meta-data. Meta-data include the originating phone number ESN (serial number), date/time, GPS coordinates when the call was placed, the duration, and the call and the destination phone number. Meta-data does NOT include personally identifiable information. In fact, The Supreme Court has ruled in the past that meta-data is not personally identifiable, and therefore a warrant/subpoena is not required. If the NSA wants personal information they must submit a warrant to the carrier, which still requires probable cause.


Now then, lets talk about how this data is currently used. Lets day, hypothetically, that a bad person was planning committing an attack on US soil, and they are arrested. While being arrested the govt. finds that they have a cell phone on them. They take that device and cross reference the MDN and/or ESN with the list and determine that they talk to two other daily, and that they spoke to them as little as 10 minutes before the attack was planned. The govt. could then take the meta-data in conjunction with a warrant and determine who the suspect talks to regularly, and who they network with.

It should be noted that this has been happening for years, and with all major carriers. The carrier must comply with the order.

Perspective: Most everyone here voluntarily gives up tons more information to Bing/Google voluntarily than the govt. could ever collect. Specifically, Google know what your favorite foods are, what kind of movies you like, your physical location, what kind of browser you use, what your hobbies are, even what kind of porn you fancy. Google, for example sets a cookie that typically doesn't expire for at least 2 years (I have seen upwards of 12 years). This cookie also has a traceable GUID that is used to trace you online.


Hope this helps!

 

[bkdodger]

No one collects more data than Google.. I do believe it.. Google Now with your cards and emails.. Deliveries.. Wonder why those sneaker ads show up when you browsing a site.. Motorola upcoming X whatever phone will have new technology to track your every move...

Noted 2x~4 beta

 

[TisMyDroid]

"In the name of terrorism"......."Protecting the homeland".....Those have now become the cornerstone remarks for the government to get people to give up their rights.

Sadly, it's been the status of America since 2012 under the guise of protecting our national security. America seemed to ignore the fundamental loss of their right to privacy back then even though it was widely reported. We just let it happen and the timing was very convenient because we were so spooked by 9-11, that we were willing to give up any of our rights & freedoms without barely a peep.

sent from my Note2 using tapatalk 4 beta

 

[jroc]

So riddle me this: Can we get an early opt out of our Verizon contracts? This surely violates some terms of our agreement; either under their not alerting customers immediately or for the sheer fact that they shared privelaged info. Regardless if the other carriers are doing this as well, I can surely pay less elsewhere.

That might create a dilemma.....if other carriers do it.....why opt out for this reason? I assume you could...just posting an observation if this came up during your phone call. Especially if news broke that all the other carriers are being asked to do it and they complied.

I can see someone opting out and not getting a cell phone ever again....so I say got for it.....see what happens.

 

[Dalvik_Cache]

Sadly, it's been the status of America since 2012 under the guise of protecting our national security. America seemed to ignore the fundamental loss of their right to privacy back then even though it was widely reported. We just let it happen and the timing was very convenient because we were so spooked by 9-11, that we were willing to give up any of our rights & freedoms without barely a peep.

sent from my Note2 using tapatalk 4 beta

Show me in the constitution/bill of rights where you have the right to privacy? Feel free to use the 1776 version if you like. I agree that there are a lot of things we have given up, but the right to privacy was never a right. There is the right to unlawful search and seizure, that's about it in this neighborhood.


Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[Dalvik_Cache]

That might create a dilemma.....if other carriers do it.....why opt out for this reason? I assume you could...just posting an observation if this came up during your phone call. Especially if news broke that all the other carriers are being asked to do it and they complied.

I can see someone opting out and not getting a cell phone ever again....so I say got for it.....see what happens.

The only way to opt out is to get rid of your cell phone, and stop using it. It does occur on all carriers. This isn't like opting out of a drawing for a BBQ grill. This is the US Govt serving Verizon and other carriers with orders to not only provide the data, but never talk about it. If they violate either they can be criminally charged.

Lastly , this has been happening for years. If you want to send angry emails send them to your Senate/Congress, not VZW.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[jroc]

Some more info on this:

NSA's PRISM may be bigger than we thought: 9 companies named, but most deny full involvement

Director of National Intelligence says PRISM reports "contain numerous inaccuracies"

Not getting into whether this happening is right or wrong...but that info is classified Top Secret and other stuff. Whoever is behind this leak is in a world of trouble. A person with access to this type of info betrayed a trust of being sworn in, read in, signing disclosure agreements, etc.

If yall are up in arms about this.....you would be extremely surprised about the other stuff yall dont know about. And I'm not talking about mythical rumors...I'm talking about actual facts.

 

[kodiak799]

Not getting into whether this happening is right or wrong...but that info is classified Top Secret and other stuff. Whoever is behind this leak is in a world of trouble. A person with access to this type of info betrayed a trust of being sworn in, read in, signing disclosure agreements, etc.

Fortunately there are some brave individuals with integrity still left in our govt. And the smart money on the leak is probably some high-level VZW exec willing to gamble on having some outs IF he/she is discovered.

I thought it was interesting that they went to The Guardian. We don't know when this story leaked, but given the AP story from a few weeks ago (which is irrelevant, because this person knows the reach/capability whether or not the AP is public) this person clearly took steps to shield themselves. The govt would appear rather unlikely to compel The Guardian to disclose its source or to seize communication records.

The timing is curious, though. This has supposedly been happening for about 7 years, so maybe the AP story prompted this person to finally come forward.

 

[combatmedic870]

Well here we go....

WASHINGTON—On the heels of reports that the National Security Agency has secretly been amassing the private telephone records of Verizon’s more than 120 million customers, President Barack Obama announced Thursday that his administration is releasing the entire country’s phone records to the public in an effort to handle the situation with complete transparency. “Honesty and openness have always been the hallmarks of my presidency, which is why I believe that everybody should have free access to this essential information,” the president said at a press conference, encouraging the public to visit a newly created online database containing the time, duration, and location of every wireless and landline phone call made by all 315 million Americans. “We—all of us—are laying our cards on the table here. Now, everyone in the country will know who’s calling whom, and when, and how often, and for how long. My administration doesn’t have any secrets, and from now on, neither will you.” Obama noted that, for the sake of national security, personal emails, consumer reports, and medical histories will remain the exclusive property of the federal government.

Source: WSJ

Thats not real is it?? Theres no way Obama said that

 

[jroc]

And the hits just keep coming.....

White House Defends Phone-Record Tracking as 'Critical Tool' - WSJ.com

Ok folks... so far T Mobile hasnt been mentioned...AT&T and Sprint are now added. Will this mean T Mo is about to become the most popular major carrier in the US? More than likely....their name just hasnt came up yet. Credit card companies, ISP's... What can you do? One link I posted shows it happening as early as 2007...with MS. All these years ppl complained about MS and phoning home... guess they werent phoning home but phoning to NSA... Apple is on there, Google is on there...

 

[TisMyDroid]

Show me in the constitution/bill of rights where you have the right to privacy? Feel free to use the 1776 version if you like. I agree that there are a lot of things we have given up, but the right to privacy was never a right. There is the right to unlawful search and seizure, that's about it in this neighborhood.


Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 2

You are sort of right because there is not a specific amendment in the constitution that guarantees the right to privacy, but there are several that support/imply/or create the necessity of right to privacy as inherent to make the rights of that specific amendment possible. The fourth amendment (protection of unlawful search and seizure) is probably the most directly related to our rights to privacy (my protection of search relates to any government entity searching my person, home, or property because it infringes on my privacy). The existence of Hipaa laws (your medical information) is strongly rooted in American's right to privacy. And our rights to privacy have been upheld by the supreme court repeatedly throughout American history.

sent from my Note2 using tapatalk 4 beta

 

[combatmedic870]

You are sort of right because there is not a specific amendment in the constitution that guarantees the right to privacy, but there are several that support/imply/or create the necessity of right to privacy as inherent to make the rights of that specific amendment possible. The fourth amendment (protection of unlawful search and seizure) is probably the most directly related to our rights to privacy (my protection of search relates to any government entity searching my person, home, or property because it infringes on my privacy). The existence of Hipaa laws (your medical information) is strongly rooted in American's right to privacy. And our rights to privacy have been upheld by the supreme court repeatedly throughout American history.

sent from my Note2 using tapatalk 4 beta

^^^^This. You hit the nail on the head.:rating10::rating10::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[TisMyDroid]

Yes, we really can't start believing we have no rights to privacy. Once we start believing that, we've given up everything. Our rights to religion, freedom of thought, searches & seizures become lawful because it becomes the indulgence in your privacy that gives “probable lawful" cause.

sent from my Note2 using tapatalk 4 beta

 

[kodiak799]

I'm LMAO at the VZW haters that are jumping on this as if other cell providers aren't part of it. None of them had a choice to "share" this info.