Report on Government Information Requests [pdf] | Hacker News Reader

Report on Government Information Requests [pdf]

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37 pointsjaysonlane6 comments

They are clever, they do what Bobby R. Inman suggests NSA should do too:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/world/no-morsel-too-minusc...

"Bobby R. Inman, N.S.A. director from 1977 to 1981, offers his hyper-secret former agency a radical suggestion for right now. 'My advice would be to take everything you think Snowden has and get it out yourself,' he said. 'It would certainly be a shock to the agency. But bad news doesn't get better with age. The sooner they get it out and put it behind them, the faster they can begin to rebuild.'" (emphasis mine)

BTW: I believe in the table 1 instead of "Percentage of Account Requests Where Some Data Was Disclosed" should be "Percentage of Accounts Where Some Data Was Disclosed." Otherwise Hong Kong numbers don't have sense.

What's the bad news they're getting out before somebody else outs it?

> Apple has never received an order under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. We would expect to challenge such an order if served on us.

Didn't somebody propose hanging a sign up that says "we've never received a FISA court order" and taking it down when it's no longer true? Apple appears to be equipped to do so.

That statement is still specifically about https://www.eff.org/foia/section-215-usa-patriot-act

"Section 215 allows for secret court orders to collect “tangible things” that could be relevant to a government investigation – a far lower threshold and more expansive reach than a warrant based on probable cause. The list of possible “tangible things” the government can obtain is seemingly limitless, and could include everything from driver’s license records to Internet browsing patterns."

Isn't FAA the one that's mainly used against tech companies, and the Patriot Act mainly used against telecoms?

I prefer the standard business-customer relationship, which is increasingly rare nowadays. It ensures that the user experiences will be great, because if it slips they lose my business and it directly impacts their bottom line. That kind of alignment of interests isn't really required for an ad company. Not trafficking in information in the first place and thus having very little to share is just a bonus.

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