Comment So did they charge the ISP as well? (Score 1) 255
Since, after all, the ISP carried the traffic that facilitated the crime..
Comment Re:Not happy about the concept, however... (Score 1) 160
Because there is a difference between trying to elicit a behavior and trying to change a person's psychological state of mind.
Comment Re:Efficiency (Score 0) 133
Shhhh. This is Slashdot. Common Sense is not allowed.
Privacy Oversight Board Gives NSA Surveillance a Pass 170
An anonymous reader writes There's an independent agency within the U.S. government called the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Their job is to weigh the benefits of government actions — like stopping terrorist threats — against violations of citizens' rights that may result from those actions. As you might expect, the NSA scandal landed squarely in their laps, and they've compiled a report evaluating the surveillance methods. As the cynical among you might also expect, the Oversight Board gave the NSA a pass, saying that while their methods were "close to the line of constitutional reasonableness," they were used for good reason. In the completely non-binding 191-page report (PDF), they said, "With regard to the NSA's acquisition of 'about' communications [metadata], the Board concludes that the practice is largely an inevitable byproduct of the government's efforts to comprehensively acquire communications that are sent to or from its targets. Because of the manner in which the NSA conducts upstream collection, and the limits of its current technology, the NSA cannot completely eliminate 'about' communications from its collection without also eliminating a significant portion of the 'to/from' communications that it seeks."
Comment He would be an idiot to give up the keys (Score 1, Troll) 149
Because the FBI would get them, despite the court order. Courts have no power to enforce their rulings, and it is pretty plain to see that the current occupant of the Whitehouse doesn't give two shits about laws or court rulings.
Automotive Grade Linux Released For Open Source Cars 88
Mcusanelli writes: The Linux Foundation and its partners have released the first version of Automotive Grade Linux, the open source platform for use inside connected cars. "AGL is building the industry’s only fully open automotive platform, allowing automakers to leverage a growing software stack based on Linux while retaining the ability to create their own branded user experience. Standardizing on a single platform means the industry can rapidly innovate where it counts to create a safe and reliable connected car experience. Open collaboration within the AGL community means support for multi-architectures and features to bolster the in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) experience." Further details and source code are available from the official website.
Google Is Offering Free Coding Lessons To Women and Minorities 376
redletterdave writes: According to a blog post from Gregg Pollack, CEO of the Code School, Google is paying for three free months for any women and minorities interested in tech to expand their skills. The offer is part of Google's $50 million "Made With Code" initiative, which aims to help close the gender gap in tech. While Google is also offering the same vouchers to the women in attendance at its annual I/O developers conference this week, the search giant has released an online application that's available to women everywhere. Google says its available vouchers for women number in the "thousands."
Comment Thank God (Score 1) 67
Well, it's a good thing we don't grow a whole lot of food crops in the streets of New York City. For a minute there I was worried.
Supreme Court Rules Against Aereo Streaming Service 484
New submitter Last_Available_Usern (756093) writes that the Aereo saga is likely over. "The U.S. Supreme Court today dealt a potentially fatal blow to Aereo, an Internet service that allows customers to watch broadcast TV programs on mobile devices by renting a small DVR and antennas (in supported cities) to record and then retransmit local programming on-demand over the internet."
Ruling (PDF). Aereo was found to be publicly transmitting, according to SCOTUSBlog "The essence of the Aereo ruling is that Aereo is equivalent to a cable company, not merely an equipment provider."
Comment Did She Stay Her Own Ruling? (Score 1) 276
I didn't read the entire ruling, but does anyone know if she stayed the ruling pending appeal, or does the ruling take effect immediately?
Comment Re:Guy is a moron (Score 1) 358
Or a swift kick in the nuts.
US Court Dings Gov't For Using Seized Data Beyond Scope of Warrant 63
An anonymous reader writes The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit last week reversed a tax evasion conviction against an accountant because the government had used data from his computers that were seized under a warrant targeting different suspects. The Fourth Amendment, the court pointed out, "prevents the seizure of one thing under a warrant describing another." Law enforcement originally made copies of his hard drives and during off-site processing, separated his personal files from data related to the original warrant. However, 1.5 years later, the government sifted through his personal files and used what it found to build a case against him. The appeals court held that "[i]f the Government could seize and retain non-responsive electronic records indefinitely, so it could search them whenever it later developed probable cause, every warrant to search for particular electronic data would become, in essence, a general warrant," which the Fourth Amendment protects against. The EFF hopes that the outcome of this appeal will have implications for the NSA's dragnet surveillance practice.
Comment Kickstarter/Amazon still get their cut (Score 5, Interesting) 448
This is why there is zero oversight from Kickstarter/Amazon - they get their 20% cut if the projects gets funded. There's no way Amazon.com is going to walk away from $125,000 in free money when they have absolutely no risk.
(We've heard this song before - from ISPs back in the day who claimed they were "common carriers" and "only providing a network" to avoid being charged as accessories to piracy).
They'll take their 125k, and if questioned, simply state they were providing a platform, and that they are not responsible for what users do with it.
Comment Re:Right decision, wrong reason? (Score 1) 109
They have Congressional authority. That is the whole "delegation of powers" thing where Congress is too lazy to legislate so they just delegate the power to an unaccountable, unelected agency that lives under the executive branch, which can regulate "as it sees fit."
Supreme Court Upholds Most EPA Rules On Greenhouse Gases 109
UnknowingFool writes In Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled against the EPA on some limits to greenhouse gases but also upheld other limits. In a 5-4 partial decision, the high court ruled that EPA overstepped their authority in requiring permits only for greenhouse gases for new and modified facilities using the Clean Air act. Such regulatory action can only be granted by Congress. But in the same case on a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that the EPA can enforce greenhouse gas limits on facilities that already require permits for other air pollutants. This leaves intact most of the new regulations proposed by the Obama administration earlier this month as many coal plants produce other air pollutants that can be regulated by the EPA.
