Yahoo scanned customer emails for US intelligence

Post by envy2 » Tue, Oct 04, 2016, 9:16 PM UTC

compiler-guy wrote: post #142

mikestew wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an experiment that I would personally be willing to try were I a high-visibility C-level exec. Been to jail, not that bad, mostly just boring; and certainly the jail that CEO me goes to would likely be better than the jail the real me has been a guest of. But the kind of person willing to tweak the nose of the government doesn't usually get to be C-anything. As you point out, best to wisely pick your battle as y…

Chelsea Manning, who is imprisoned over something similar to this case, may have a different opinion on how nice jail is than you.

Post by dmix » Tue, Oct 04, 2016, 9:23 PM UTC

rdl wrote: post #146

Bartweiss wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been wondering about this myself. Apple got a mixed response when they pushed back on the FBI, but certainly not a clearly negative one. Lavabit's rather alarming case earned them substantial respect in the tech circles that learned about the matter. Certainly whistleblowers have faced immense consequences, but they've been government or military employees engaged in major disclosures. To jail a 'captain of indu…

Also committing to a "fuck NSLs, we'll just go public and take it all the way legally" stance upfront might deter NSLs in the first place.

Post by tptacek » Tue, Oct 04, 2016, 9:27 PM UTC

Phlarp wrote: post #130

tptacek wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know any more about this than you do; I'm learning about it from the same Reuters story. But according to the story, the decision to implant the backdoor wasn't discovered by Yahoo security; rather, the backdoor itself was discovered, weeks after it was deployed.

So is the speculation that Stamos' departure was related to this? The timing would seem suspicious otherwise. If so, one wonders if he would take a similar principled stance a second time at Facebook. Much harder to jump ship for greener pastures while already riding the biggest rocketship in town.

Post by jsmthrowaway » Tue, Oct 04, 2016, 9:37 PM UTC

tw04 wrote: post #167

DubiousPusher wrote: post #11

I think the attitude here that most tech companies are rolling over and just complying without a single ethical consideration is misplaced. The government has been doing an excellent job of basically extorting these companies into compliance. They threaten the full weight of the US government's wraith and then tie every order up with classifications and gag orders. You aren't legally allowed to talk to other companie…

Well, they've already "made an example" of the only company to truly stand in their way. Look at Qwest - you talk to the average citizen and their takeaway was that justice was served | A corrupt CEO ran the company into the ground and went to prison. Hurrah! Don't pay attention to the fact he denied installing what he considered unconstitutional wire taps for the NSA resulting in the government pulling almost a bill…

Post by cerebellum42 » Tue, Oct 04, 2016, 9:39 PM UTC

dmix wrote: post #165

findK wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

isn't the whole premise that the Big Companies actually control the government? "They threaten the full weight of the US government's wraith and then tie every order up with classifications and gag orders." full weight? You mean like a small fine ? That's what happened to Wells Fargo. The govt . seems really angry about it, but what can they really do to a corp that is considered an entity?

Maximizing shareholder value is like a death grip that squeezes any public corporation into not making financial gambles on ethical grounds. It's so important that these leaks go public for two critical reasons: 1) with that type of financial regulatory environment for public companies, the only way to create incentives for that type of consumer protection play is when it has monetary consequences if they do nothing…