Law Enforcement Requests for Net Data Multiply

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "It's not just phone companies grappling with reported potentially privacy-intruding requests from the NSA and other branches of government: Banks, Internet-service providers and other companies that possess large amounts of data on their customers say that police and intelligence agencies have been increasingly coming to them looking for tidbits of information that could help them stop everything from money launderers to pedophiles and terrorists, the Wall Street Journal reports. From the article: 'According to AOL executives, the most common requests in criminal cases relate to crimes against children, including abuse, abductions, and child pornography. Close behind are cases dealing with identity theft and other computer crimes. Sometimes the police requests are highly targeted and scrupulously legalistic, while other times they were seen by the company as little more than sloppy fishing expeditions. AOL says that most requests get turned down.'"

Re:What are we?

[dugjohnson]

I'd like to believe the former, but I am becoming more convinced that the latter is becoming our guiding paradigm, although whether this organism is higher is a question for me.

I've always noted that there are herd people and loner people....as the latter I use the term cow and wolf, but a herd person might use a different analogy....say, team and terrorist.

Herd people like a herder and are willing to put up with a lot to be led. Right now, I am afraid, the U.S. of A has gotten comfortable enough that there are a LOT of herd people. In the beginning of this grand land o' ours, it was the loner's who stepped out and worked hard and kept moving because they didn't like having a neighbor that they could see. Now we revel in mosh pits, raves and Times Square on New Year's Eve.

Staying with your analogy, I suppose that there is the societal body, then a few of us independent bacteria who don't mess things up too badly and may even help a little, but at the first sign of indigestion get wiped out with an antibiotic.

Here's hoping the moon station opens soon.

Re:Here they are at it again

[LookoutforChris]

Might work out too well, the Arabs actually have a long tradition of pederasty [wikipedia.org]. It's not unusual for a older Arab man to have relations with a pubescent boy, sort of like the Greeks.

Maybe if we sent them to North Korea [wikipedia.org] instead?

Seriously though, the scenario where some "undesireable" sect of a society is to be scooped up and stuck on island/all killed/all put in jail/etc. is ignorant.

To quote Nietzsche: "Even the most harmful man may really be the most useful when it comes to the preservation of the species; for he nurtures either in himself or in others, through his effects, instincts without which humanity would long have become feeble or rotten. Hatred, the mischievous delight in the misfortune of others, the lust to rob and dominate, and whatever else is called evil belong to the most amazing economy of the preservation of the species. To be sure, this economy is not afraid of high prices, of squandering, and it is on the whole extremely foolish. Still it is proven that it has preserved our race so far."

Also, in the West, please try 'n make a distinction between Ephebophilia [wikipedia.org] and true Paedophilia [wikipedia.org]. At the very least it will make you sound smarter.

Re:Most Get Turned Down

[Anonymous Coward]

That is not the case (AFAIK) with, for example, credit card records (unless you've filled out the privacy request form).

wtf? I can fill out a "privacy request form" and thereby ensure privacy of my credit card records? I've never heard of this; it must be the best-kept secret around! Could someone please elaborate further?

Re:Not all got turned down?

[Elemenope]

I work part-time at a mid-sized family inn in Rhode Island, and one day while I was working the front desk, I answered a call from (supposedly) a police investigator from a nearby town attempting to ascertain if a particular person or her aliases had been a recent guest. Being a small family inn with a cantankerous old lady who doesn't put up with crap and isn't a particular respecter of authorities other than herself as the owner, we take privacy quite seriously and so I asked if he had a warrant. He said no, so politely declined his fishing expedition and told him that he could go get a warrant and either show up personally or fax a copy over.

I had never before or since heard a cop sound more absolutely shocked than he did. He asked why we required a warrant, and I started belting off the reasons that came to mind, starting with the fact that it would help a rgreat deal in proving that he was actually who he said he was (at hotels, we deal with all sorts of crap with people, mostly wives, fleeing abusive relationships and those bastards can be crafty in trying to track their victims down). It was quite apparent that the thought of us saying no to his request had never even entered his mind, which in turn indicates to me that the vast majority of companies and what-not put up no resistance whatsoever to these sorts of requests unless a direct interest of theirs is harmed. And that alone scares the crap out of me.

The postscript of the story was fairly banal. He was in fact a cop and he did eventually end up getting a warrant and it turned out that one of our guests was a convicted petty thief who was fleeing another prosecution. And of course she was polite and a model guest while she was there, which in the end is really all that I find myself caring about when they stay at the inn.