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FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

washingtonpost.com

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Re: FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

#31

Post by folksonomy »

Last time I checked the only real need for persistence in a browsing session is to store bookmarks and to store massive ASCII blobs full of jQuery so I can read another bloated NY Times article. Browser vendors really need to start bundling this code into the browser so we don't have to download it every single time we visit a site (We all religiously surf in private browsing mode these days, right?).

Because if we aren't surfing with even baseline privacy, then articles like this pale in comparison to Big Brother nosing around in the underpants of your browser history.

Re: FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

#33

Post by mtgx »

wrsh07 wrote: post #30
marze wrote: post #2

You'd think terrorism/spy cases would be a small minority of overall cases. And not that hard to justify a warrant. Seems odd that they feel it is important to skip the warrant step for such cases. Why not require a warrant? The more checks and balances the better.

Is it a speed thing? Like do you think they're fighting with their own layers of bureaucracy? Is there a way to make obtaining warrants more transparent and straightforward? It honestly seems like they could design a better system that doesn't get rid of the checks, increases citizen trust, and solves their issues.

If it was a speed thing, the FBI could show "good faith" [1] and say that a judge should verify the request post-facto and (in)validate it.

But of course it doesn't do that, because the FBI doesn't operate in "good faith", and because it would prefer as little oversight as possible - which is what this request is really about anyway: the removal of judicial oversight, even beyond its rapidly growing abuse of NSLs [2].

[1] - https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160605/09111034626/appea...

[2] - https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2016/04/14/keeping...

Re: FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

#34

Post by RickS »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #29
busterarm wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well played, but in the public eye. I think the fact that they completely invented a fictitious science to prosecute cases should have brought serious investigation and televised congressional hearings with daily news coverage... ...but nope. Scrap it and start over.

I'm a little behind, what fictitious science is this?

not the OP, but my guess: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fbi-overstated-fo...

>The Justice Department and FBI have formally acknowledged that nearly every examiner in an elite FBI forensic unit gave flawed testimony in almost all trials in which they offered evidence against criminal defendants over more than a two-decade period before 2000.

Re: FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

#35

Post by lostlogin »

techthroway443 wrote: post #4

Wow whoever came up with the whole 'in the name of terrorism' is a goddamn genius. Pretty much a free card to get access to anything and everything for the sake of 'security'.

Standing in a security queue a couple of years ago at LA airport after a long haul flight listening to someone say "I can understand why they are like this after what happened" is as close to homicidal as I've ever felt.

Re: FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

#36

Post by lostlogin »

Jemmeh wrote: post #14
pigpaws wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, it scares the people on the right, while "... for the children." is whats used to scare the left. How ANY of us made it to adulthood is amazing.

Eh, I've heard "for the children" on left and right. "Gay parents are bad for the children" "Spanking is bad for the children"

Until a few years ago a disciplinary spanking of a child was allowed in New Zealand and a woman was found not to have broken the law when she used a horse riding crop. TLDR an NZ style spanking is bad for the child.

Re: FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

#37

Post by mosdave »

Karunamon wrote: post #7
techthroway443 wrote: post #4

Wow whoever came up with the whole 'in the name of terrorism' is a goddamn genius. Pretty much a free card to get access to anything and everything for the sake of 'security'.

Indeed. Anytime you hear the words "children" or "national security" or "terrorism" being bandied about, you should crank up the sensitivity on your bullshit detector.

> you should crank up the sensitivity on your bullshit detector.

mine has been turned up to 11 for about 15 years now.

Re: FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

#38

Post by bunkydoo »

Well it honestly depends what classifies a terrorism or spy case as such. I could see how this could be easily abused in many regards, but also how it could help someone do their job. Double edged sword really, but I do wish the people had more of a say in these matters instead of just hearing about more liberty being lost via the news :/

Re: FBI wants access to browser history without a warrant in terrorism, spy cases

#39

Post by dave2000 »

nitrogen wrote: post #10

Call to Firefox devs: restore the option to keep history for a specified number of days. Why was this option ever removed? It originated all the way back in Netscape. Also: make a prominent "clear last hour" option for mobile; I hate following a link from someone and finding a ton of tracking cookies have just been added.

You're surfing without noscript, ublock origin and self-destructing cookies?
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