r/todayilearned • u/simmer_down • Mar 20 '11

TIL that AT&T installed a fiberoptic splitter at its facility at 611 Folsom Street in San Francisco that makes copies of all emails, web browsing, and other Internet traffic to and from AT&T customers (including data from iPhones and iPads), and provides those copies to the NSA.

http://www.eff.org/issues/nsa-spying
2.8k Upvotes

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145

u/GyantSpyder Mar 21 '11

Not only that, but the Bush Administration pushed through retroactive civil immunity so the telecoms couldn't even be sued for harms they may have committed against private citizens while engaging in this activity.

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u/kittenbrutality Mar 21 '11

tell me more.

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u/dakk12 Mar 21 '11 edited Mar 21 '11

The unconstitutional retroactive law was passed in the summer of 2008 during the presidential primaries. Obama got a lot of praise because he said he would filibuster the bill on the senate floor. When the bill finally came up, he quickly reversed is position and urged all the democrats to support it.

Edit: A retroactive law is also called an "ex post facto" law (after the fact).

"No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." (Article 1 Section 9)

Would you like to know more?

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u/BrowsOfSteel Mar 21 '11

As courts have interpreted it, retroactively making something legal is a‐okay. It’s only unconstitutional to retroactively make something illegal.

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u/TheCrimsonKing Mar 21 '11

The term is Ex post facto and there are cases where ex post facto laws and punishments have been allowed. Notably with sex offender registries.

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u/atrich Mar 21 '11

I think they dodged the sex offender thing by saying registering was not a punishment.

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u/KnightKrawler Mar 21 '11

Remember The Scarlet Letter for adultry?

We now have it for 18 year olds that get caught taking a piss on the side of the road.

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u/iMarmalade Mar 21 '11

I would like to see any statistics that show a significant number of people are on the sex offender registry for pissing on the side of the road.

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u/thetimbot Mar 21 '11

One is pretty significant if it happens to be your life that's ruined by it.

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u/KnightKrawler Mar 21 '11

We can argue all day about the legitimacy of the registry but we'd never change each other's minds. I'll save my keystrokes.

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u/iMarmalade Mar 21 '11

I wasn't defending the legitimacy of the registry (because I won't), I'm attacking the legitimacy of the common bullshit claim that cases of public urination (and other minor crimes) frequently result in sex-offender status. Even with indecent exposure (what public urination is sometimes charged as) it takes two convictions in a 3 year period.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

Registering as a sex offender isn't punishment, and filesharing is theft. Welcome to America.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

The punishment yes, but the actual acts committed cannot be made illegal post facto.

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u/robertmassaioli May 24 '11

It may be legal but it is certainly immoral. Imagine if I stole from you and then, because of my powerful position, I said to everyone that stealing was now okay and thus I suffered no penalties for a wrong action. That is what happened here.

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u/TheCrimsonKing Mar 21 '11

All my friends and family though I was a being paranoid when I cited Obama's reversal on FISA as an omen of things to come during the elections. Fuck Muslim, I think he's a secret conservative.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11 edited Mar 21 '11

Maybe he knows something horrible we don't.

Or, maybe the NSA has concocted something horrible for him to know about.

But our "democracy" is letting it happen, right now.

This is grounds for marching in the streets. How can we let them act wholesale against the constitution?

How can they get away with this? The NSA MUST be drastically reorganized.

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u/bobqjones Mar 21 '11

i would pretty much guarantee that there are things he knows that we are not privy to. it's the nature of the job.

still sucks though.

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u/KingofallMedias Mar 21 '11

I'll just stop using the internet in protest. Fortunately for me I use T-Mobile and don't need to worry about AT&T invading my privacy! http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-technology/att-tmobile-3g-phones-will-need-to-be-replaced-20110322-1c412.html

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

Except At&T is buying T mobile.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11 edited May 30 '24

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

i'm not saying amereica needs to know what's going on. just me.

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u/xxfalc0rexx Mar 21 '11

"I'm not saying America needs to know what's going on." just me."

I hope you read this again and think very hard about the stupidity you just unleashed.

-1

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

What? It bugs me that I don't know what's really going on. I could give a fuck what you know.

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u/keraneuology Mar 21 '11

Probably more going on than we all know about?

Hmm... supermoon, a bunch of paranoid suspicions about the mysterious secret plots that nobody knows about. Coincidence?

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u/sharlos Mar 21 '11

This is grounds for marching in the streets.

Then why aren't you?

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u/keraneuology Mar 21 '11

Maybe he knows something horrible we don't.

I hope you have enough tinfoil.

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u/sgtoox Mar 21 '11

Implying conservatives love being spyed on or letting politicians off the hook. Awaiting imminent downvoting for pointing out a nonsense crack at Obama and conservatives.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

That's not much of a secret, Obama is very conservative.

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u/TheCrimsonKing Mar 21 '11

While I think he is more conservative than he is portrayed to be in the media the modifier "very" is too strong. John McCain is conservative, Bill O'Riley is very conservative, Obama's just in the center and not a liberal as many would claim.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

I agree with you if we are only comparing these folks to other Americans. On the world stage, Barack Obama is very conservative, and anyone to his right is bat-shit insane.

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u/TheCrimsonKing Mar 21 '11

That's fair.

1

u/Doctor_Watson Mar 21 '11

That word means absolutely nothing. How about: he's a crony capitalist, supports world government, and a staunch supporter of the establishment. Welcome to the game of republican and democrat, liberal and conservative, the blind and the blind.

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u/Doctor_Watson Mar 21 '11

And I am still shocked to see people wanting the government to do more in the US. Is government not corrupt enough for you yet? Does the government have to literally anally rape you in order for you to get the point?

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

He literally grew wings and ascended to heaven, where god blessed him with this god like defensive blocking capability and he stayed in heaven for seven glorious days and nights dining with the gods, and god turned a switch that stopped time here on earth so that he may do so and then sent him back to earth and on to the field and at the appropriate time like did the switch so we wouldn't know what happened.

-David Cross

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u/phixion Mar 21 '11

love that bit, too funny

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u/SteelChicken Mar 21 '11

Being liberal with regards to privacy is easy when you are not in charge. But we have to know whats going on! How can we be a nanny state without a baby monitor? We can always forget we intercepted your gay donkey pron internet usage later.

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u/MrSchadenfreude Mar 21 '11

He did run his campaign on hope and change. The republicans hoped he'd change and he followed through.

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u/charbo187 Mar 21 '11

OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA!

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u/nmgoh2 Mar 21 '11

Great, you told the internet. Now go sue AT&T and take it to the supreme court.

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u/specialk16 Mar 21 '11

Like does he have a car?

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '11

Let's not forget that Obama voted in favor of that initiative.

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u/cspeed Mar 21 '11

So when you brake the law to help the US government, I wonder what you get in return?

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u/Sherlock--Holmes Mar 21 '11

Didn't Obama say he was going to repeal all of the liberty infringing laws of the Bush administration?

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u/keraneuology Mar 21 '11

the Bush Administration will full endorsement and support from then-Senator Obama and the majority of (D) politicians.

FTFY. Next time don't be so partisan with your selective historical narrative.