Intelligence Program Gives US Government Direct Access to Customer Data on Apple Servers [Update: Apple Denies]

[SoGood]

But I've come to grudgingly accept it as a necessary evil. Things aren't as they used to be. Terrorism is right here on our soil, right amongst us, and I sleep a little better at night, knowing that the intelligence agencies charged with our protection, have some tools to level the playing field in their fight with those, who would indiscriminately hurt, maim or kill us.

Perfect demonstration of paranoia here. The risk of being shot and die from domestic/social violence is magnitudes greater than being hit by terrorists. Ignorance is bliss.

 

[unobtainium]

Spot on. Paranoia and fear drive the economy. War profiteering, no bid contracts, stores selling out - any time there is a hint at something terrible possibly occurring, there is a knee jerk reaction. Y2K, people built bunkers, withdrew their accounts, rationed food. 9/11, lead us into a war with a country not involved (should have been Saudi Arabia as the high jackers were Saudi) and no bid contracts for Halliburton. The cold war, created decades of tension from countries fighting over former Nazi scientists to the 80's/90's. Families built fall-out shelters, children were taught to "duck and cover" in the event a nuclear bomb hits (as if a wooden desk will protect them). After the cold war, there had to be another enemy. Years of governments such as the UK and US manipulating the MIddle East to secure oil lead to a backlash into the 80's and today. The Iran-Contra affair, selling weapons to the very people/terrorists we fight, politicians running platforms warning of terror if they aren't elected, lobbyists lining their pockets, back room deals.

It has been and always will be about money. Period. Our government wants us to fight, we've come to use liberal and conservative as insults and the internet has not helped in bringing us closer together. Instead, forums, chat rooms, comments written to strangers insulting them for their beliefs, accusing people with no basis of being xxxx. This isn't about Republican or Democrat, they're all the same. This is about power, control, fear, capitalism. Wars create money, short term and long term. Fear makes people buy. Cut education, lower the standard of living, minimum wage, increase higher education costs, and create a world of feudalists living paycheck to paycheck, fighting each other instead working with each other. This isn't a conspiracy, this is reality, and has been for centuries.

So, so accurate and so, so depressing.

 

[scottsjack]

The Democrats are lucky that 2013 is an off-election year. The Republicans managed to blow it last year by running a totally worthless pair of oval office candidates and by creating a constant barrage of some of the dumbest statements ever regarding women and rape.

Right now the number of honest issues to use against the Democrats is huge but there are no elections. Lucky Dems.

 

[thadoggfather]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

Read the first sentence.

NSA. I guess they have nothing to do with Obama whatsoever. I would venture to say Obama doesn't even know what the acronym stands for as he claims to get his news the same time it hits mainstream media.

 

[bearbo]

I'm just saddened that we are loosing more and more rights, freedom's and privacy for a false sense of security. The reality is all these measures are only to give the people a "Warm and fuzzy feeling".

How many activities have been stopped by all our lost freedoms and privacy? And whats to stop a person from sitting in an area off a highway next to an airport and blow down an airplane with a rocket launcher?

I for one am disgusted at what our government has become since the patriot act was signed.

Theoretically, by preventing said person from acquiring a rocket launcher in the first place.

Perfect demonstration of paranoia here. The risk of being shot and die from domestic/social violence is magnitudes greater than being hit by terrorists. Ignorance is bliss.

And we should work on domestic/social violence prevention too. Are you saying violence from sources other than domestic/social are therefore unimportant and no intelligence gathering needed? Try telling that to the family of 9/11 victims.

 

[palmharbor]

The patriot act

Dang, this is scary.

IN ORDER...to obscure what they were doing the Republicans under Mr. Bush
passed this law that has NOTHING to do with Patriotism ...but strips Americans of most rights including the Prism issue, Verizon issue, holding someone in
prison for any reason or no reason indefinately.
The same Conservatives have totally forgotten their bill and how Bush signed it.
B/c of this law...all of this is legal and has been for many years.

 

[lolkthxbai]

What if we were at war and we didn't even know it. Would we really notice if we were starting to slip into cyber warfare against other nations? What if this is necessary to fight back? Is that what White House is worried about?

 

[gorskiegangsta]

How does this affect those of us outside the US?

Well, given that the program is [reportedly] designed to monitor "threats" outside US, as well as the fact that all of the above giant multinational companies possess data on customers from all around the world, I'd say it has potential to affect those outside US to an even greater extent.

 

[shinji]

One could argue that it is because of such surveillance, that terrorist attacks are very rare.

Also, how do you know it is not effective? Do you know what happens if these measures are not in place (provided all else equal)?

I'm not saying I'm overjoyed that the government might have all sorts of data, but the alternative might not be any better. It can arguably be much worse.

Let's forget that whole illegal search and seizure thing...because we might arguably avoid a terrorist attack.

And it makes sense that terrorists would plan their next terrorist attack using Facebook and Gmail, so I'm glad the government has an unconstitutional secret court to spy on the general public. The alternative, which would be respecting the privacy of millions of innocent Americans, could be much worse.

I hope you're just playing devil's advocate to make a point...because the fact that anyone who is not employed by the NSA could support PRISM is scary to me.

 

[unobtainium]

Theoretically, by preventing said person from acquiring a rocket launcher in the first place.



And we should work on domestic/social violence prevention too. Are you saying violence from sources other than domestic/social are therefore unimportant and no intelligence gathering needed? Try telling that to the family of 9/11 victims.

The point is that the number of deaths and injuries due to domestic violence, inadequate healthcare, and crime are FAR FAR higher every single year than the number of casualties from all terror attacks in all recorded history on US soil.

So why, exactly, are we willing to surrender our privacy to a surveillance state because of this relatively minor threat?

 

[Ochyandkaren]

Land of the FREE.
Indeed!

 

[shinji]

IN ORDER...to obscure what they were doing the Republicans under Mr. Bush
passed this law that has NOTHING to do with Patriotism ...but strips Americans of most rights including the Prism issue, Verizon issue, holding someone in
prison for any reason or no reason indefinately.
The same Conservatives have totally forgotten their bill and how Bush signed it.
B/c of this law...all of this is legal and has been for many years.

...and Obama oversaw the expansion of the program. I don't view this as a partisan issue.

 

[Shrink]

...and Obama oversaw the expansion of the program. I don't view this as a partisan issue.

This is PRSI...EVERYTHING is a partisan issue!

 

[thadoggfather]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-an...eaks-brain-initiative-and-american-innovation

Hey guys, Obama is just exploring the brain.

Hmmm, sounds benign

 

[tech4all]

so tell me....do you still love apple now?

I don't love any companies. Based on some folks here, I think some wish they could be intimate with their phones. After all, they always say how great the phone feels in their hands.

Not saying its the iPhone lovers or lil robot...just saying...

 

[SoGood]

So why, exactly, are we willing to surrender our privacy to a surveillance state because of this relatively minor threat?

Because human paranoia is irrational.

----------

So, so accurate and so, so depressing.

Nothing to be depressed about. That's the reality and we just have to make the best out of it. The next level of consideration is, can we trust the regulations that govern the use of that data?

 

[jlasoon]

Sure. But can you convince me that a Republican wouldn't have done all this and more? I prefer Hilary and I'm not a huge Obama fan but I'd still prefer him to the alternatives the Republicans put forward.

The illusion is convincing individuals such as yourself that a difference exist between political parties.

 

[Rogifan]

Do liberals still love Obama now? How's that GITMO closure going btw?

 

[clayj]

Hey, Apple: If you are found to be lying about this, you are DONE.

 

[Peace]

Do liberals still love Obama now? How's that GITMO closure going btw?

It could go pretty good if republicans allowed it.

And BTW.. Apple denying never hearing about PRISM does NOT mean they haven't participated.

From Reuters :

"We have never heard of PRISM," Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said. "We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer data must get a court order."

"Asked whether Apple joined the NSA-FBI data collection program, Apple declined to comment beyond its brief statement."

A Court Order. That would be the FISA Court.

Apple is using quick-speak.

 

[Plutonius]

Hey, Apple: If you are found to be lying about this, you are DONE.

and if they aren't lying, then what ?

 

[Shrink]

Hey, Apple: If you are found to be lying about this, you are DONE.

I just got a call from Tim, and he swears they're not lying. You really scared the hell of them.

 

[Primejimbo]

Tomorrow's headline news .......

New Terror Attack
Why didn't our government do enough?

"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." Benjamin Franklin

 

[parapup]

Kinda both funny and sad at the same time to watch the half-brains go Google vs. Apple on this one! [The people at the NSA would have to be having a very low collective IQ to not foresee the terrorists just buying Apple gear to be excluded from any surveillance. Either that or they figured out Apple won't ever get good at iCloud and no one would bother to use it. ]

 

[Drunken Master]

First off....Google's a bunch of freaking liars. Flatly denied any involvement in any sort of program like this earlier this year.

Secondly...is anyone really surprised? The Internet is a great tool, but any sort of sense of privacy erodes away more and more each day. We store a lot of data on other people's servers and do it in the name of convenience without giving it much of a thought. We are now seeing what we all really should have seen coming....that our convenience comes at a price.
.

Almost all conveniences in life come at a price.

It's more convenient to drive to the supermarket than walk, but you release pollution into the air.

It's more convenient to put preservatives in food but they wreck our health.

It's more convenient make things out of plastic, even though most of them are still petroleum by-products.

It's more convenient to send someone an e-mail rather than a letter, but the amount of servers and computers needed draws a ton of energy and the hardware is made from strip-mined metals and minerals extracted by companies owned by violent African warlords.

The age of innocence is over, folks.