U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data

[TheNutcracker]

Source: Washington Post

http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/YLCS8G/WTOJ3H/7E9RF8/BMI4OSR/L94M0W/82/h

National/global news alert • Thu., Sep. 11, 2014 4:26 pm

U.S. threatened massive fine to force Yahoo to release data

The U.S threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day in 2008 if it failed to comply with a broad demand to hand over user data that the company believed was unconstitutional, according to court documents unsealed Thursday that illuminate how federal officials forced American tech companies to participate in the NSA’s controversial Prism program.



Read more: http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/r/YLCS8G/WTOJ3H/7E9RF8/BMI4OSR/L94M0W/82/h

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[dickthegrouch]

1. Nation of laws - Hah

Land of the Free

The free judge, nervous nellie, FISA court member

From the article:

Stewart Baker, a former NSA general counsel and Bush administration Homeland Security official, said it’s not unusual for courts to order compliance with rulings while appeals continue before higher courts.

“I’m always amazed how people are willing to abstract these decisions from the actual stakes,” Baker said. “We’re talking about trying to gather information about people who are trying to kill us and who will succeed if we don’t have robust information about their activities.”

A tiny minority are trying to kill us. Gathering any US person's data still requires a search warrant.

They really attacked the weakest link and then bulldozed the rest.

My disgust at this pseudo justification knows no limit.

[christx30]

2. But if the government doesn't know

how you like your coffee, the terrorists will win!

[tomm2thumbs]

11. double cream, double sweetener

(whew! that was close...)

[christx30]

13. I thank you,

and 'merica thanks you. <Takes a sip of his double chocolate shake. Fires his rifle in the air. Tear rolls down his cheek.>
'Merica!

[tomm2thumbs]

20. you

should work at Wonkette... you'd kill it!

<big thumbs up>

[Thor_MN]

16. Dammit, so much for flying anywhere on vacation.

I like my coffee black.

[RoccoR5955]

4. You got dat all wrong...

It's a nation of FLAWS.
Land of the FEE.

and the home of the graves (of soldiers who died defending corporations who care nothing about them)


Like that bumper sticker that reads:
"Freedom isn't free!"
Well damnit, if it isn't free, than it isn't freedom, it's feedom!

[blkmusclmachine]

3. The NSA is/was 100% focused on profiling every American citizen by websites visited, emails sent &

received, products purchased, images viewed, banking and financial transactions, and personal conversations with friends and family wherever they live.



I have seen the enemy. And he is us.

[RoccoR5955]

5. Absolutely! n/t

[L0oniX]

9. Oooops ...guess they missed a few American and UK terrorists who went over to help Isis.

Well at least they know people watch porn now.

[sendero]

23. As well as a couple guys in Boston.

.... who they had been officially warned about.

This surveillance state is about terrorism like I'm about ballet dancing. It's a smoke screen.

[harun]

26. They aren't afraid of Terrorist's. They are afraid of the U.S. Citizen.

[Psephos]

27. which is why they bought 2 billion hollow point bullets last year

not the military, mind you...

the Dept of "Homeland Security"

[sendero]

29. And have armed local LE..

.... with "surplus" hardcore military gear.

[harun]

30. Exactly, they don't want an "American Spring" like the Arab one.

[Volaris]

24. Then that "sharing" of information should go both ways...

meaning I should get more accurate search results when I surf for pron.

[OnlinePoker]

6. $91.25 million in a year they had a net income of $419 million

I would have taken the fine and publicized the fact this was happening. This would have exposed the whole rotten system long before Snowden came on the scene.

[whereisjustice]

7. Meanwhile, the CEO of home depot has literally handed millions of credit card accounts

over to Russian hackers and won't face a dime's worth of criminal liability.

Hard to say which institution is more corrupt, the NSA who can't figure out when hundreds of millions of credit card accounts are streaming to Russia (but they are busy trading naked pictures they find), or the CEO who decided to keep using his 12 year old, obsolete cash register system unprotected, the same system that was hacked at Target a year earlier, because it might take more than $0.02 to protect his customers accounts.

And as usual our worthless millionaires in Congress don't give a rat's ass since they don't have to pay for anything themselves.

[TheNutcracker]

8. Exactly..

[L0oniX]

10. Well they have developed the need to ratfuck big corporations and rich sociopaths.

FCC Wheeler is a emblematic of the latest round of rat fucking.

[jtuck004]

12. Cool. It's as if our gov put the Constitution up for sale on ebay <LOL>. n/t

[TheNutcracker]

14. This was more bullshit from GW Bush....he has turned the USA inside out!

[TheNutcracker]

15. Can we kick some more so we have a full investigative report on MSM?

[one_voice]

17. k&r

[TheNutcracker]

18. thanks a bunch!

[Psephos]

19. If only we had a D Prez who could stop it with an executive order.

Really, what is the fucking problem?

[christx30]

21. It does seem troubling...

I mean, he could stop the massive amount of NSA spying, if he wasn't busy excusing it or signing indefinite detention without charge into law.

[Live and Learn]

22. What if an individual Yahoo user sued the government over this?

Or a class action suit? I don't see how they could lose based on Constitution law. Then again, there is that Constitutionally biased Supreme Court to deal with.

[TheNutcracker]

25. That's a good question as 'class action' suits just suck for plaintiffs.

[Live and Learn]

28. Very true but at least they do often result in policy changes. nt