Sat Jun 29, 2013, 06:13 AM

Segami (14,923 posts)

Glenn Greenwald: NSA Can Store A BILLION CELL PHONE CALLS Every Day

Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald says he has another big scoop about the National Security Agency's surveillance practices up his sleeve. Speaking over Skype to the Socialism Conference in Chicago, Greenwald claimed that the NSA has the ability to store one billion phone calls each day.

Greenwald's reporting earlier this month sparked the scandal over NSA surveillance practices that is currently plaguing the Obama administration. The stories were based on classified documents leaked to him by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, and Greenwald indicated Friday night that he's sitting on several more -- one of which he decided to talk about even though his story on it hasn't been published yet.

"It talks about a brand new technology that enables the national security agency to redirect into its own repositories one billion cell phone calls every single day. One billion cell phone calls every single day," he said.

"But what we're really talking about here is a localized system that prevents any form of electronic communication from taking place without its being stored and monitored by the National Security Agency," Greenwald continued. "It doesn't mean that they're listening to every call, it means they're storing every call and have the capability to listen to them at any time, and it does mean that they're collecting millions upon millions upon millions of our phone and email records."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/29/glenn-greenwald-nsa-cell-phone-calls_n_3520424.html

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187 replies	Author	Time	Post
Glenn Greenwald: NSA Can Store A BILLION CELL PHONE CALLS Every Day (Original post)	Segami	Jun 2013	OP
So they own a lot of hard drives	intaglio	Jun 2013	#1
I think what we are suggesting is that the NSA adhere to the 4th amendment.	Warren Stupidity	Jun 2013	#2
And we can have that discussion without elevating a RW libertarian douchebag to the status of a hero	baldguy	Jun 2013	#3
You need more talking points. You left out China, Russia, Ecuador, and Cuba.	Warren Stupidity	Jun 2013	#5
Yes, the moment he's not the only source for the info.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#31
Did all of those 46% attend the briefings and such about the NSA or its programs et al?	Bodhi BloodWave	Jun 2013	#90
Collins' argument was that you can't request a briefing for things you don't know.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#117
There's a lot of "Catch 22" here though...	ljm2002	Jun 2013	#120
Right, it's clear	marions ghost	Jun 2013	#141
I'm sure you have as much disdain and rejection of the neocon/Bush surveillance state	Fire Walk With Me	Jun 2013	#44
Obama ended the NSAs abuses under the Bush Regime, & forced them to get warrants for their wire taps	baldguy	Jun 2013	#52
Nonsense. He clearly did not end the NSA abuses.	GoneFishin	Jun 2013	#66
On behalf of The Carlyle Group, Booz Allen, Academia, Halliburton, Beltek, Stratfor, HB Gary etc	think	Jun 2013	#151
Wait wut?	Fire Walk With Me	Jun 2013	#158
.	baldguy	Jun 2013	#163
"If the president does it, that means it is not illegal." ~Richard M. Nixon.	Fire Walk With Me	Jun 2013	#164
So, what you really want is to impeach Barack Obama. And why not Joe Biden while you're at it.	baldguy	Jun 2013	#166
He's been obsessed with the NDAA for a year now.	randome	Jun 2013	#169
I'm sure Snowden took note of that "small" detail in the NDAAs	think	Jun 2013	#179
Funny he didn't mention it. Funny he didn't understand what a secure FTP server is.	randome	Jun 2013	#183
I hadn't consider that the NDAA clause could be used to indefinitely detain Snowden either.	think	Jun 2013	#184
If: I have a problem with Obama's UNCONSTITUTIONAL acts, Then: I want Boenher for president.	Fire Walk With Me	Jun 2013	#170
Your comment proves that you have no fucking clue how our govt works.	baldguy	Jun 2013	#172
For some reason someone alerted this, Jury voted 3-3....	Logical	Jun 2013	#182
Thank you, what an asshole to alert and ASSume. I =do= vote for democrats.	Fire Walk With Me	Jun 2013	#185
No we cant. That's the whole point. People have tried to "have that discussion" in the past and	rhett o rick	Jun 2013	#56
What's childish is supposedly rational, supposedly liberal people trying desperately	baldguy	Jun 2013	#59
"You're allowing a RW libertarian Paulbot" Again childish.	rhett o rick	Jun 2013	#63
And what is childish is hyperbole	zeemike	Jun 2013	#68
Then you haven't been paying attention.	baldguy	Jun 2013	#76
Well you fell for the propaganda it seems.	TM99	Jun 2013	#69
Greenwald may, or may not be a "douche," but he is REPORTING!	Dustlawyer	Jun 2013	#174
Then they should say exactly how the 4th is breached	intaglio	Jun 2013	#4
None so blind as those wont see.	Warren Stupidity	Jun 2013	#6
none so blind as those ignoring case law	intaglio	Jun 2013	#9
Mass domestic surveillance has not gone through a 4th amendment challenge.	Warren Stupidity	Jun 2013	#10
Metadata phone records are not your property.	randome	Jun 2013	#11
Bingo.	baldguy	Jun 2013	#13
I wonder how many threads must be hidden before TOS violations....	grasswire	Jun 2013	#176
ah of course. Arguably neither is the information passing over the internet, right?	Warren Stupidity	Jun 2013	#17
Data that is stored by a third party is not yours.	randome	Jun 2013	#20
Hold on there. One argument at a time.	Warren Stupidity	Jun 2013	#21
They need a search warrant to go on or search	gholtron	Jun 2013	#61
I also want to make this point too.	gholtron	Jun 2013	#65
Smith v Maryland	intaglio	Jun 2013	#79
Then you medical and bank records can be had too right?	zeemike	Jun 2013	#72
There are entire volumes of laws and rules preventing that information from being shared.	randome	Jun 2013	#77
Well state those laws.	zeemike	Jun 2013	#89
I'm no law or privacy scholar. I have no idea what laws are in place for school records.	randome	Jun 2013	#92
Recording of calls and storing them for a possible evidence in a criminal case without a warrant	boston bean	Jun 2013	#106
There is nothing to suggest that's being done.	randome	Jun 2013	#107
Long read,but worth it.	Go Vols	Jun 2013	#147
Those are not published, metadata is published	intaglio	Jun 2013	#84
How about your doctors meta data?	zeemike	Jun 2013	#97
That is not published information	intaglio	Jun 2013	#104
So you mean the phone company publishes	zeemike	Jun 2013	#135
The information dialed into a phone system is published	intaglio	Jun 2013	#143
HIPAA prevents the reporting of medical records. No such statute applies to telephone metadata.	OilemFirchen	Jun 2013	#136
And does it prevent the FISA court from issuing a warrant	zeemike	Jun 2013	#144
Does what "prevent the FISA court from issuing a warrant"?	OilemFirchen	Jun 2013	#152
Well then so are the answers.	zeemike	Jun 2013	#155
Your Bank Records...	KharmaTrain	Jun 2013	#86
But the corporations do not have the power	zeemike	Jun 2013	#91
What we truly need to know about the NSA...	randome	Jun 2013	#96
No what we need is adherence to the forth amendment.	zeemike	Jun 2013	#98
They Sure Can Screw Over Your LIfe...	KharmaTrain	Jun 2013	#99
Well that is why I said not yet.	zeemike	Jun 2013	#101
The State...	KharmaTrain	Jun 2013	#109
Yep, the world that is.	zeemike	Jun 2013	#134
+1. anything that's on a computer is theirs. and since they're corraling us into putting	HiPointDem	Jun 2013	#180
the evidence is that the pres said it is being stored ,,geesh	questionseverything	Jun 2013	#146
He did not say that the contents of all calls are being stored.	randome	Jun 2013	#153
I've been saying that over and over	gholtron	Jun 2013	#58
You remember the 'truism' that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile?	randome	Jun 2013	#70
What it really is is that some people find it "icky"	intaglio	Jun 2013	#85
By the way,	gholtron	Jun 2013	#93
I get you. And I wasn't trying to 'teach' you anything, either.	randome	Jun 2013	#95
I Appreciate Your Bringing Legal Terminology into the Discussion	On the Road	Jun 2013	#173
So	secondvariety	Jun 2013	#78
No, it means the 4th amendment is not being violated.	randome	Jun 2013	#81
If the phone records	secondvariety	Jun 2013	#115
It's the digital age. Data is never 'given back', it's copied and then deleted.	randome	Jun 2013	#116
So,	secondvariety	Jun 2013	#122
Why would it be idiotic?	randome	Jun 2013	#129
But, Clapper	secondvariety	Jun 2013	#140
Did Clapper say that specifically about the metadata?	randome	Jun 2013	#154
My guess	secondvariety	Jun 2013	#161
You have no reason to think they are abusing the law.	randome	Jun 2013	#162
The law.	secondvariety	Jun 2013	#165
There is Congressional oversight but I don't know how detailed that goes.	randome	Jun 2013	#168
How it functions is anyone's guess.	secondvariety	Jun 2013	#171
I don't see how metadata collection violates the 4th Amendment in any way.	JaneyVee	Jun 2013	#19
Good for you. I hope you like your National Security State.	Warren Stupidity	Jun 2013	#24
My point was about the legalities of it pertaining to the 4th amendment.	JaneyVee	Jun 2013	#26
But you'll trust Verizon to know all that. They don't have laws preventing misuse.	randome	Jun 2013	#35
The point is very simple, the Congress and the President do not agree	Progressive dog	Jun 2013	#43
Two things, and funny you should mention license plates.	Fire Walk With Me	Jun 2013	#34
Do people really	pipoman	Jun 2013	#62
When did the government not have that ability to destroy individual lives?	randome	Jun 2013	#67
Snowden is a flea on a dogs tail...the same tail that is wagging the dog..	pipoman	Jun 2013	#112
Well you seem to be ignorant of some lies you have issued	intaglio	Jun 2013	#100
well..	pipoman	Jun 2013	#175
What a charming person you are	intaglio	Jun 2013	#177
LOL	pipoman	Jun 2013	#178
I gave examples of lies that you told	intaglio	Jun 2013	#181
Do you really not see the parody	pipoman	Jun 2013	#186
I've admitted to a justified ad hom	intaglio	Jul 2013	#187
Sometimes the gummint keeps secrets to protect your privacy.	OilemFirchen	Jun 2013	#142
How true	railsback	Jun 2013	#111
First of your problems	intaglio	Jun 2013	#36
I find your arguments the most compelling in this discussion! nt	MADem	Jun 2013	#14
And, like most major violations of the spirit of this nation, the "fig leaf"	Pholus	Jun 2013	#40
Very much agree	intaglio	Jun 2013	#46
No need to worry about pride, you're being very thoughtful about this.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#48
Just because there is a law doesnt mean it doesnt violate the Constitution. I suggest you read the	rhett o rick	Jun 2013	#64
I suggest you take the Supreme Court's word	intaglio	Jun 2013	#74
That ruling only applied to "pen registers". The warrant we've seen	rhett o rick	Jun 2013	#88
Pen registers and the information encoded in the the dialing of the number	intaglio	Jun 2013	#102
Here's a more pertinent SCOTUS action.	OnyxCollie	Jun 2013	#103
Thanks for that	intaglio	Jun 2013	#105
du rec.	xchrom	Jun 2013	#7
So the technology 'can' do this? Is the NSA using it?	randome	Jun 2013	#8
If they build it	cpwm17	Jun 2013	#12
Technology is often not 'built' in the way physical things are built.	randome	Jun 2013	#16
When I was a little kid, we were told there'd be jet packs for everyone.	MADem	Jun 2013	#18
Jet packs are a very impracticle technology for widespread use	cpwm17	Jun 2013	#23
We were promised them, though. PROMISED!	MADem	Jun 2013	#25
Talk about a red hearing....sheesh...	zeemike	Jun 2013	#83
No, this is a red herring. I don't see the resemblance at all.	randome	Jun 2013	#87
Well, it wasn't a Communist who told me this, and my hearing was quite good at the time...! nt	MADem	Jun 2013	#114
So three teenage girls overflow their system?	tclambert	Jun 2013	#15
Ha! It is to be fervently wished.	Demit	Jun 2013	#22
Now this report by Greenwald shows he does not have any concept of what he is	Thinkingabout	Jun 2013	#27
Greenwald says, ""It doesn't mean that they're listening to every call, it means they're storing	Luminous Animal	Jun 2013	#32
Do we have only a billion people in the US who has a cell phone? How many cell phone customers do	Thinkingabout	Jun 2013	#49
Ummm, the US population is 313.9 million. A factor of 3 smaller than a "billion"	Pholus	Jun 2013	#51
The 2014 NDAA creates a new complex dedicated to the analysis of stored data and metadata.	Fire Walk With Me	Jun 2013	#38
A billion would be three calls per day per cell phone user.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#47
How long do you expect a call to last, it does not add up. Longer calls means more storage is taken	Thinkingabout	Jun 2013	#53
You should probably just examine a calculation yourself.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#57
Greenwald	ProSense	Jun 2013	#28
Would you give the government permission to put a camera in every room in your house	Bolo Boffin	Jun 2013	#29
Here's the video for any good souls who missed it	Catherina	Jun 2013	#30
I think he is confused.	DCBob	Jun 2013	#33
It is technically possible, but not very probable	FarCenter	Jun 2013	#45
It could be they are storing selectively.	DCBob	Jun 2013	#50
CALEA mandates that they have that capability.	FarCenter	Jun 2013	#54
Between tower and handset is about 8 Kb/s	Trekologer	Jun 2013	#148
The guy who does the "Internet Archive" did a calculation	Pholus	Jun 2013	#55
Once again, he could have read about Bush doing this and MORE here on DU many years ago!	Coyotl	Jun 2013	#37
But...but greenwald is a something or other! This means everything he says doesn't matter!	Fire Walk With Me	Jun 2013	#42
Relevantly, A-Ha was releasing new albums well into 2009 or so.	Robb	Jun 2013	#39
No, actually 3 days of the entire Internet, per day	denem	Jun 2013	#41
Prudence Dictates That One Must Make The Assumption That Everything Will Be Recorded	cantbeserious	Jun 2013	#60
I figure the Terrorists already do...	Pholus	Jun 2013	#71
Any Smart Malcontent Would Surely Avoid All Forms Of Electronic Communication	cantbeserious	Jun 2013	#75
The NSA "trap" then is the illusion of freedom or being lost in the noise....	Pholus	Jun 2013	#118
Agree - The Surveillance Is For Us - Not The Terrorists	cantbeserious	Jun 2013	#121
I think my point was, we are all potential Terrorists now.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#125
K&R	Vinnie From Indy	Jun 2013	#73
A billion?...	SidDithers	Jun 2013	#80
So many it staggers the imagination.	randome	Jun 2013	#82
Not spoken like Carl.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#119
a billion's got nuthin' on a Sexdecillion	flamingdem	Jun 2013	#124
I breathlessly await your next contribution.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#126
I listened to the video posted here last night	flamingdem	Jun 2013	#128
That's fair enough.	Pholus	Jun 2013	#133
lol - no not a billion a Sexdecillion !11(one)!	flamingdem	Jun 2013	#123
LOL	Cali_Democrat	Jun 2013	#137
Hasn't Echelon already been intercepting / storing over 3 billion / day for decades?	HiddenAgenda63	Jun 2013	#94
I have a car	railsback	Jun 2013	#108
Prove it!	randome	Jun 2013	#110
"And ramming it into the wall while obeying the speed limit? How lame."	railsback	Jun 2013	#113
So which cell phone companies are complying with the NSA spying on Americans?	Apophis	Jun 2013	#127
I'm thinking it's all of them.	randome	Jun 2013	#132
And the authoritarians break out their goto talking point: We already knew that!	DesMoinesDem	Jun 2013	#130
"hard work, but someody's got to do it"	bobduca	Jun 2013	#139
So they have the ability to do this	Cali_Democrat	Jun 2013	#131
K & R !!!	WillyT	Jun 2013	#138
that would be storing....	madrchsod	Jun 2013	#145
A lot of it has to do with all the calls we make to our Congressmen.	Major Hogwash	Jun 2013	#149
That last sentence really clarifies things a lot	99th_Monkey	Jun 2013	#150
knr	Douglas Carpenter	Jun 2013	#156
I can drink 10 beers before feeling intoxicated!	railsback	Jun 2013	#157
It's a fact!	randome	Jun 2013	#160
LoL!	railsback	Jun 2013	#167
k and r	nashville_brook	Jun 2013	#159

Response to Segami (Original post)

Sat Jun 29, 2013, 06:16 AM

intaglio (8,170 posts)

1. So they own a lot of hard drives

FFS. Do you want to ban the NSA from owning hard disks?

If Google wanted they could probably store 10 billion.

Glenn Greenwald: NSA Can Store A BILLION CELL PHONE CALLS Every Day

1. So they own a lot of hard drives

2. I think what we are suggesting is that the NSA adhere to the 4th amendment.

3. And we can have that discussion without elevating a RW libertarian douchebag to the status of a hero

5. You need more talking points. You left out China, Russia, Ecuador, and Cuba.

31. Yes, the moment he's not the only source for the info.

90. Did all of those 46% attend the briefings and such about the NSA or its programs et al?

117. Collins' argument was that you can't request a briefing for things you don't know.

120. There's a lot of "Catch 22" here though...

141. Right, it's clear

44. I'm sure you have as much disdain and rejection of the neocon/Bush surveillance state

52. Obama ended the NSAs abuses under the Bush Regime, & forced them to get warrants for their wire taps

66. Nonsense. He clearly did not end the NSA abuses.

151. On behalf of The Carlyle Group, Booz Allen, Academia, Halliburton, Beltek, Stratfor, HB Gary etc

158. Wait wut?

163. .

164. "If the president does it, that means it is not illegal." ~Richard M. Nixon.

166. So, what you really want is to impeach Barack Obama. And why not Joe Biden while you're at it.

169. He's been obsessed with the NDAA for a year now.

179. I'm sure Snowden took note of that "small" detail in the NDAAs

183. Funny he didn't mention it. Funny he didn't understand what a secure FTP server is.

184. I hadn't consider that the NDAA clause could be used to indefinitely detain Snowden either.

170. If: I have a problem with Obama's UNCONSTITUTIONAL acts, Then: I want Boenher for president.

172. Your comment proves that you have no fucking clue how our govt works.

182. For some reason someone alerted this, Jury voted 3-3....

185. Thank you, what an asshole to alert and ASSume. I =do= vote for democrats.

56. No we cant. That's the whole point. People have tried to "have that discussion" in the past and

59. What's childish is supposedly rational, supposedly liberal people trying desperately

63. "You're allowing a RW libertarian Paulbot" Again childish.

68. And what is childish is hyperbole

76. Then you haven't been paying attention.

69. Well you fell for the propaganda it seems.

174. Greenwald may, or may not be a "douche," but he is REPORTING!

4. Then they should say exactly how the 4th is breached

6. None so blind as those wont see.

9. none so blind as those ignoring case law

10. Mass domestic surveillance has not gone through a 4th amendment challenge.

11. Metadata phone records are not your property.

13. Bingo.

176. I wonder how many threads must be hidden before TOS violations....

17. ah of course. Arguably neither is the information passing over the internet, right?

20. Data that is stored by a third party is not yours.

21. Hold on there. One argument at a time.

61. They need a search warrant to go on or search

65. I also want to make this point too.

79. Smith v Maryland

72. Then you medical and bank records can be had too right?

77. There are entire volumes of laws and rules preventing that information from being shared.

89. Well state those laws.

92. I'm no law or privacy scholar. I have no idea what laws are in place for school records.

106. Recording of calls and storing them for a possible evidence in a criminal case without a warrant

107. There is nothing to suggest that's being done.

147. Long read,but worth it.

84. Those are not published, metadata is published

97. How about your doctors meta data?

104. That is not published information

135. So you mean the phone company publishes

143. The information dialed into a phone system is published

136. HIPAA prevents the reporting of medical records. No such statute applies to telephone metadata.

144. And does it prevent the FISA court from issuing a warrant

152. Does what "prevent the FISA court from issuing a warrant"?

155. Well then so are the answers.

86. Your Bank Records...

91. But the corporations do not have the power

96. What we truly need to know about the NSA...

98. No what we need is adherence to the forth amendment.

99. They Sure Can Screw Over Your LIfe...

101. Well that is why I said not yet.

109. The State...

134. Yep, the world that is.

180. +1. anything that's on a computer is theirs. and since they're corraling us into putting

146. the evidence is that the pres said it is being stored ,,geesh

153. He did not say that the contents of all calls are being stored.

58. I've been saying that over and over

70. You remember the 'truism' that it takes more muscles to frown than to smile?

85. What it really is is that some people find it "icky"

93. By the way,

95. I get you. And I wasn't trying to 'teach' you anything, either.

173. I Appreciate Your Bringing Legal Terminology into the Discussion

78. So