Submission to the Panopticon
by digby
We've been writing here about the "stingray" technology and the local cops' use of it for a while. But I was happily surprised to see the mainstream Vox take up the subject and with such a strong editorial viewpoint:
Did you know that law enforcement can track your cellphone with a fake cell tower? It's true — and devices that do this, known as stingrays, are at the center of a growing scandal.
The FBI has done everything it could to keep the existence and use of stingrays a secret. Local law enforcement agencies are forced to sign nondisclosure agreements before they can use the devices. The FBI claims that revealing details about how the gadgets work would tip off criminals and terrorists, rendering them less effective.
But in recent months, civil liberties groups have steadily chipped away at the secrecy of these devices. We've learned that they're used by dozens — and probably hundreds — of law enforcement agencies across the country, and that at least one agency has used them thousands of times.
Critics say the way these devices have been used violates the US Constitution, by tracking people's locations without judicial oversight. And the secrecy surrounding the devices also appears to be hampering efforts to prosecute violent criminals, as prosecutors have dropped key evidence rather than discuss how it was obtained.
The extreme secrecy surrounding these devices is out of step with the American tradition of open and accountable government. Americans have a right to know that law enforcement spying has proper judicial oversight. And this kind of oversight is impossible if even basic information about the technology is kept under wraps.
There is more info at the link. It would be really nice if the rest of the mainstream press showed similar concern. This is all of a piece in which new technology is created and then secretly deployed by the government where it inevitably leads to civil liberties abuses. After all, civil liberties exist for the express purpose of impeding the government's natural inclination to abuse the rights of its citizens, whether to further its own power or whether they believe it will "protect" innocents. Neither rationale is acceptable in a free society. After all, the government could "protect us" by using their powers to burst into every home at will to ensure that nobody is hiding anything but we would find that to be an odd way of defining "protection". Making things as easy as possible for police is not how we've arranged our society.
I suppose it's easy for people to believe that the NSA or the FBI are above such pettiness although it's very hard to see why considering their history. But for the sake of this argument we'll grant that. Can anyone in their right minds truly believe that local police are above corruption or error and should therefore be allowed to spy on citizens in secret with no safeguards? If you're willing to believe such fatuous nonsense then you probably deserve the police state in which you'll soon be living.
While many Americans may give the benefit of the doubt to police in a violent altercation they are unlikely to want to trust them with their own personal information. If they think it's fine then they ought to just give all their passwords out to law enforcement and willingly submit themselves to The Panopticon. I'm not up for that myself. I like being able to keep my private thoughts to myself. In fact, I can't imagine what life will be like when that's lost. It strikes me as a nightmare.
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