FBI Keeps Telling Purely Theoretical Encryption Horror Stories.

Even if there were some real ones, it would amount to a smaller danger than the danger of a state that watches everyone.

For companies, data that isn't essential is a liability.

If that helps convince companies to keep less data about people, that's a good outcome. But we should not let our privacy rights be defined by the interests of companies. Human rights should take priority over business interests, and privacy is a human right.

The US Justice Department now says it will try to prosecute executives responsible for corporations' crimes.

President Sanders, if supported by Congress, would put real teeth into this policy.

If a company stalls for time until its employees can't be prosecuted, is that obstruction of justice?

Edward Snowden explains the experiences and thought path that led him to blow the whistle on US massive surveillance of essentially everyone.

It is interesting that there is proof that another whistleblower exists within the NSA. I wonder if someone has heeded the patriotic exhortation that I put in my emails.

[[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
[[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
[[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]

The Internet of Things doesn't inherently have to be an Internet of Telemarketers and Snoops. It could be made of personal devices which keep the users' personal data to themselves, while receiving published data from businesses.

The only practical way to ensure the devices don't snoop is if their software is free.

Many baby monitors (internet-connected cameras, really) have been left vulnerable to snooping by unknown third parties.

The immediate cause is bad design, but the root cause, in some cases, is routing the video through the server of a company that shouldn't be trusted with a view of the inside of your home.