House Committee Urges Congress To Pass Stingray Surveillance Legislation (theverge.com) 25
A bipartisan House Oversight and Government Reform Committee report released today urges Congress to pass legislation to regulate cell-site simulation surveillance devices like the Stingray. From a report: The devices, used by local and federal law enforcement agencies around the country, have been controversial, both for their power to track mobile devices and the secrecy often accompanying their use. As the report notes, the devices are still often used by local law enforcement agencies without warrants, instead relying on various lower standards of evidence. The committee's investigation, which last year prompted the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security to change their policies on when to require a warrant before using the devices, found that the Justice Department uses 310 of the devices and spent $71 million on them between fiscal years 2010 and 2014. Homeland Security has 124 devices and spent $24 million in the same period. [...] The committee recommends that agencies become more "candid" about the devices, and urges states to pass legislation that would "require, with limited exceptions, issuance of a probable cause based warrant prior to law enforcement's use of these devices."
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RTFA
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It said you were a clown.
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was a specification made regarding my disposition in clown-hood?
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Heck, it is in the summary. This is about requiring warrants with Stingrays, not allowing their use without warrants.
Re:I've got an idea (Score:4, Informative)
NOW they care about the 4th amendment? (Score:2, Insightful)
This could have just been a thing in the works for some time, but my overall guess is that the change in executive power is finally getting the civil libertarians moving again. They were apparently fine as long as someone they trusted was in charge, but now suddenly they want oversight and limits to federal overreach.
Re: NOW they care about the 4th amendment? (Score:2)
Or it could be that certain people in congress deliberately obstructed any legislation supported by the then sitting president. Its almost lke they publicly swore to oppose the President in everything he did regardless of the merits. You know like opposing a "grand bargain" that would have done more to solve long term spending problems because it would have been seen as the president winning.
And now that they think they won these same people will go back to the very tax cut and spend policies and deregulati
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I'm sorry, but I seem to have missed President Obama saying anything about warrantless use of Stingrays, can you point me to a single instance of him speaking out against them and the GOP (as you imply) blocking the legislation he recommended?
Rather this was simply deemed unconstitutional (Score:3)
Stingray = US felony (Score:3)
This device is the very essence of cracking, unauthorized access to a computer system, namely the targetted cellphone and others in the vacinity. A violation of 13 USC 1030. It is testimony to the corruption of our legal system that the perpetrators, so-called Law Enforcement Officers, are so brazen as to use these devices openly without fear of prosecution.
Stingrays should be outlawed (Score:2)
I can't believe that we haven't already outlawed Stingrays, or worked on Stingray genocide.
Stingrays took the great Steve Irwin from us. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
While American lawmakers may think that only Aussies can get killed by Stingrays, it's only a matter of time until the DoJ's rampant use of them leads to more unnecessary casualties.
House Committee Urges Congress To Pass Stingray (Score:3)
Well, golly gee folks, this is just what the doctor ordered - - - EVERYONE gets their cell phones hacked
/ recorded / tracked. Just imagine what this process would have on the communications within the
Washington circle ! ! !
Let's see - delivery of meth, coke, crack, oxy, "escorts", etc - and SUDDENLY all the 'players' in the
political arena get their dirty laundry spread across the front page. I was going to add pot, but that is
apparently legal in DC nowadays.
Where, and when, did the concept of 'sunset' laws disappear from the agenda - wherein all laws had
to be re-approved periodically, or were deleted from the judicial books. Times change, attitudes change,
morals change, and yet - we are still burdened with laws on the books that SHOULD make you laugh (gay
rights, abortion, vulgar language in public, etc, etc, etc), except that they are STILL ON THE BOOKS,
and you can STILL be prosecuted.
Please, oh please, remove the free pass that legislator's get by NOT being liable or prosecutable for
their actions under the cover of 'public office exemptions'. Even sitting heads of state have, in recent
times, been held responsible for illegal actions - as in war crimes situations - - - so why should our
legislative representatives be allowed to get away with 'exempting' themselves from laws that they are
passing that make their same actions a CRIME if committed by 'joe blow' - a common soul - merely trying
to exercise his/her right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness within their own homes in this
country - home of the brave and free, and cowed by legislation that intrudes into their own bedrooms?
Hell, it's no wonder that the radicalized factions and population sub-segments are taking it upon
themselves to 'act out' in the most horrible and unthinkably bloodthirsty ways - when they have no
effective input into the actual day-to-day rights embedded in our constitution.
Sorry, but this issue struck a nerve - seeing as how a high school friend of mine went to federal lockup
for TWENTY YEARS for having TWO SEEDS of marijuana in his glove box.
Life in the US has really turned into a '1984' balls-up scenario - - - only thing is, and it really
sucks because it still IS the best, is that it beats anywhere else in the world to live (as long as you
can hide your minor vices and issues from the jackbooted badges).
OK, so this gets me flagged as a 'no fly' asshole, but big deal. I'm a disabled veteran that can't handle the
hour(s) long delay involved in just getting ON a plane due to the pain from my back and knees
(service-connected disabilities). At least I don't have to be forced to undergo a strip-down, cavity-inspection,
just because I have the balls to speak my mind!
On the other hand, I carry a letter from my VA doctors explaining the need for my pain medications so that,
JUST IN CASE I get rousted in the middle of the night and tossed into the clink, I don't have to endure any
additional pain and hardship fostered on me by the 'powers that be' because they think I am a threat to
national security - - - or should I say, a threat to their justification to be total dick-wads hiding behind a
badge - who enjoy lording it over the 'people' of this once great country.