The Nation: Google Handed Over Personal Data of Two WikiLeaks Volunteers to Grand Jury

[Hissyspit]

Last edited Fri Jun 21, 2013, 09:41 PM - Edit history (1)

@kgosztola: Google handed over personal data of two WikiLeaks volunteers to grand jury:

http://www.thenation.com/article/174933/court-documents-reveal-extent-federal-investigation-wikileaks#axzz2WtBnHpNO

The Dragnet at the Edge of Forever

Amidst the havoc surrounding the earth-shattering revelations being made about the massive catch-all surveillance being conducted by the US government against virtually everybody with an Internet connection, a set of relatively unremarkable letters arrived in our GMail inboxes on Tuesday evening, containing a series of attachments.

These attachments were scanned court orders, sealed and later unsealed, issued to Google by the United States District Court for the eastern district of Virginia. These orders demanded that Google hand over to the United States (yes, they were that specific), various information relating to accounts we hold with Google, including whom we communicated with, when, from where, and for how long.

The court orders were almost certainly related to the Grand Jury investigation of the unauthorized public disclosure of information showing considerable misconduct, including a number of probable cases of war crimes, by US military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan during their wars in these countries, a list of people being held without trial or legal recourse in Guantanamo Bay, and a trove of diplomatic cables detailing the ways the US government have conducted themselves – both good and bad – over many years.

This investigation, which appears to be winding down as Justice Liam O’Grady felt it safe to unseal the orders, appears to have been conducted not for the purpose of attributing criminal behavior to those guilty of conducting said war crimes and violations of fundamental human rights, but to punish those who performed the public service of making the world aware of them.

- snip -

And yet more get introduced to this saga all the time. Over the last several years we have seen many of our friends, colleagues and allies pestered – for lack of a better term – by overzealous law enforcement, prosecutorial overreach, and misapplication of laws which at one point may have been intended to protect democratic values. They have been hunted down, imprisoned, and sometimes killed directly or indirectly, all for nothing but their desire to uphold the values our societies hold dear.

MORE

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. The US Government appears not to give a single shit about the war crimes,

but they will move heaven and Earth to imprison the folks who revealed the war crimes. What have we become?

[Monkie]

2. google sure loves standing up for human rights

when its from a loooong way a way and they point the finger at the chinese..

[Catherina]

3. I really hate google. They made a deal with NSA and if not a deal, a key to the every single door

and if not a deal, a key to the every single door in the house.

Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks

The world's largest Internet search company and the world's most powerful electronic surveillance organization are teaming up in the name of cybersecurity.

By Ellen Nakashima
Thursday, February 4, 2010

...

Google and the NSA declined to comment on the partnership. But sources with knowledge of the arrangement, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the alliance is being designed to allow the two organizations to share critical information without violating Google's policies or laws that protect the privacy of Americans' online communications. The sources said the deal does not mean the NSA will be viewing users' searches or e-mail accounts or that Google will be sharing proprietary data.

...

But achieving collaboration is not easy, in part because private companies do not trust the government to keep their secrets and in part because of concerns that collaboration can lead to continuous government monitoring of private communications. Privacy advocates, concerned about a repeat of the NSA's warrantless interception of Americans' phone calls and e-mails after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, say information-sharing must be limited and closely overseen.

"The critical question is: At what level will the American public be comfortable with Google sharing information with NSA?" said Ellen McCarthy, president of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, an organization of current and former intelligence and national security officials that seeks ways to foster greater sharing of information between government and industry.

...

The NSA would also be able to help the firm understand what methods are being used to penetrate its system, the sources said. Google, for its part, may share information on the types of malicious code seen in the attacks -- without disclosing proprietary data about what was taken, which would concern shareholders, sources said.

...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020304057_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2010020402509

[kas125]

4. It's been a really bad night for me, but then I came here. And saw the four names above mine in

this thread and remembered that the entire world isn't crazy and that there are still sane people among us. I appreciate you all, more than I can even say.

[rhett o rick]

5. Wondering if we will hear from the corporatist apologists in this thread. nm