Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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Feds Ordered Google To Unmask Certain YouTube Users. Critics Say It’s ‘Terrifying.’ (www.forbes.com)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by MediaSensationalism@covert.nexus to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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cross-posted from: https://covert.nexus/post/20450

Summary:

Federal investigators have requested Google to provide information on all users who watched specific YouTube videos within a certain timeframe, sparking privacy concerns from civil rights groups. The videos had collectively been watched over 30,000 times.

The case involves undercover agents sending tutorial links for mapping via drones and augmented reality software to an individual, “elonmuskwhm,” who is suspected of violating money laundering laws and unlicensed money transmitting.

Court orders obtained by Forbes show that the government instructed Google to disclose user data, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, account activity for Google account holders, and IP addresses for non-account holders who watched the videos. The government argues that this data collection was relevant to their criminal investigation.

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[–] Fubarberry@sopuli.xyz 43 points 7 months ago (5 children)

Here's the article without the paywall

So basically, the police were trying to catch a single person, and so the requested the personal details for all the user accounts that made up 30,000 views on a youtube video. Obviously, some accounts could have viewed it more than once, but we're still likely talking about 20,000+ users whose privacy they were going to violate because it might help catch one single person. Absolutely ridiculous.

[–] MonsiuerPatEBrown@reddthat.com 22 points 7 months ago (2 children)

The show The Wire basically showed the police destroying by the thousands US citizens' privacy to catch a few drug dealers.

What they have done to the least of us they will do to all of us.

[–] MediaSensationalism@covert.nexus 8 points 7 months ago

In the TV show Blue Bloods, my favorite scene occurs when the Chief of Police confronts a cell phone company CEO. They portray him as a strawman and attempt to guilt-trip him into providing them with backdoor access to everyone's phones.

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