'Extreme surveillance' becomes UK law with barely a whimper

[Equinox Moon]

Source: The Guardian

The Investigatory Powers Act, passed on Thursday, legalises a whole range of tools for snooping and hacking by the security services unmatched by any other country in western Europe or even the US. A bill giving the UK intelligence agencies and police the most sweeping surveillance powers in the western world has passed into law with barely a whimper, meeting only token resistance over the past 12 months from inside parliament and barely any from outside.

US whistleblower Edward Snowden tweeted: “The UK has just legalised the most extreme surveillance in the history of western democracy. It goes further than many autocracies.”


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/19/extreme-surveillance-becomes-uk-law-with-barely-a-whimper

---

Trump will have the US massive surveillance apparatus to utilize as he wishes.
Here are ways to protect ourselves:
https://theintercept.com/2016/11/12/surveillance-self-defense-against-the-trump-administration/

[Feeling the Bern]

1. On this site, Edward Snowden is the devil. Mention his name and watch the sparks fly

So, we must oppose anything Snowden agrees or disagrees with until he comes home to face his kangaroo court and railroading.

[Doreen]

3. I hope you are not serious.

[Feeling the Bern]

6. How you seen how many DUers attack him and call for him to be strung up figuratively

Where was her when Bush did it?
What did he give to his masters in Russia?
He's a coward that ran to Russia instead of facing up for what he did.

Search DU. There are DUers who have called Snowden a traitor many times.

[Doreen]

7. All I will say is my opinion of him is different from those.

Thanks for the warning though.

[deurbano]

8. Doesn't mean he is the "devil" on this site to all or even most.

"Many" is often a few saying the same thing many times.

[Feeling the Bern]

9. I didn't say "many." I asked "do you know how many?"

[deurbano]

10. You said he's the devil on this site. To some, he is.

They can seem like more than they are.

[cstanleytech]

11. He isnt the devil he is just a man who broke the law regarding the handling

of classified information that some people mistakenly believe makes him a whistleblower because he exposed some issues which could have actually caused him to fall under the whistleblower umbrella had he not made the mistake of choosing to also release intelligence gathering efforts on the part of the US on foreign nations.

[Feeling the Bern]

12. As well as exposing illegal, unconstitutional domestic spying, but in this post 9/11 USA

that pesky 4th amendment is meaningless.

[cstanleytech]

18. Ya the problem is he did not limit the release to that information only.

Had he done so he might have been able to shield himself with a whistleblower defense but he made the same mistake that Manning did and did not limit his release to only the information about the ongoing efforts of the government spying illegally on its own citizens.

[Feeling the Bern]

21. Put me on his jury. I'll hang the fucking thing.

I would have done it with Manning, but that was military court.

[JonLP24]

28. He gave it to journalists such as Greenwald or NY Times

For them to decide what the public needs to know besides he wouldn't have had a whistleblower defense under this "war on whistleblowers".

[cstanleytech]

29. Well be that may he needs to live with his decision.

I personally think he made the wrong decision as far as the volume of information he leaked out but that is just my opinion.

[Dustlawyer]

14. They bought into the demonization of Snowden by TPTB.

I believe he did it for his country and we ignored it. We are being watched now like never before and it will get much worse under Trump and the Republicans.

[Equinox Moon]

15. "Feeling the Bern" - Bernie supports Snowden

As do I. He is a courageous hero. I follow his tweets, which are full of tech info and how to protect ourselves from the surveillance apparatus.

Twitter.com/snowden

(FYI, this will be my only comment to you. I am not interested in a comment war.)

[Feeling the Bern]

20. No war. I think he is a hero too!

[Doreen]

2. Hmm

I see this scene with a van sitting outside the flats of England listening to EVERYTHING everybody in them are saying and doing. This scene is from V for Vendetta. I guarantee you Trump WILL try to do this if he sees the UK succeed with this. I have seen freedom of speech leaving this country from what he says in his speeches. This will also be a good way to make certain sexual relations against the law. If they hear certain sexual acts going on they can break down the door drag you out and arrest you. No more planning protests right along with the anti-protest law being suggested by Die Fuhrer's goons.

[Equinox Moon]

16. I fear you speak truth

Yet, my hope and faith is in the progressive moment coalescing as we exchange comments. It is our chance to display and implement to the world America is a democracy.

[Solly Mack]

4. K&R

[leftyladyfrommo]

13. People will put up with a lot

When they are afraid of bombs going off in public places and shooters mowing down innocents in theaters.

I have such mixed feelings any more. But I surely don't trust Trump with those issues

[Equinox Moon]

17. I think that is what happened.

Yet, the reporting shows that more surveillance does not protect anyone.

[ronnie624]

22. Americans' fear of terrorism is irrational.

The actual threat does not merit the extreme response from Western governments. Terrorism policies based on irrational fears, are by definition irrational themselves. The best way to address the issue of terrorism, is to address the underlying causes.

[leftyladyfrommo]

23. Random violence really works

to get people terrified. Most of our violence comes from wackos that have lived here all their lives. It is still scary.

I don't think about it when I go out but we haven't had much going on in KC. We have had more serious problems with drive by shootings and road rage shootings and just random shootings at people driving down the road.

What does that say about us ?

[ronnie624]

24. It says we are far more likely to die from typical American gun violence, than from terrorism. n/t

[leftyladyfrommo]

25. Guns are legal here. No training. No permit.

That is a lot scarier to me.

[ronnie624]

26. 1. n/t

[Turbineguy]

19. Now they don't have those lefty EU assholes to contend with.

[TheBlackAdder]

27. Trump's Day One: Enable a "Pre Crimes Division" to scan people's info and arrest before they act!