Archives for monitoring

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 6/2/11

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

It’s no secret that the FBI is gathering information about the phone calls and emails of Americans. What has been a secret until now is why the FBI does not want to reveal the names of the the phone and internet companies that have been allowing widespread surveillance of Americans talking with people overseas. The reasons may surprise you, or make you laugh, or make
you cry. If you’d like to hear them from the horse’s mouth, listen up. If you’d like your own copy of the FBI’s reasoning, go to
www.aclu.org/national-security/aclu-v-office-director-national-intelligence-declaration-david-m-hardy.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 6/25/09

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Technology has played an important role in the protests about the recent election in Iran – both for good and for ill. The Internet allowed protesters to communicate after the Iranian government effectively took control of the mass media. Deep packet inspection technology also allowed the Iranian government to monitor protesters emails and help identify those who were communicating via the Internet and what they were saying. The monitoring technology was supplied by western companies – who also supplied the same technologies to western governments, including the U.S., who are using it in much the same way the Iranian government is. Interestingly, the language we use to describe that activity is quite different depending on who is doing the monitoring.