Politics

Nearly 10 years ago, Osama bin Laden changed the way many of us lived.

The coordinated suicide attacks on September 11, 2001, began what would become known as the War on Terror. They led directly to the invasion of Afghanistan and the formation of the Department of Homeland Security, and indirectly to the Guantanamo Bay prison and a rise in government centralization and secrecy.

What's not as obvious is how al Qaeda's attacks, at least in technology and political circles, shifted the discussion from protecting electronic privacy to facilitating government surveillance.

Bin Laden was killed yesterday in Pakistan … Read more

A Democratic congressman isn't satisfied with Apple's explanation of why iPhones keep track of their users' locations and wants a federal probe into the Cupertino software marker's privacy practices, CNET has learned.

Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington said through a spokesman yesterday that a Federal Trade Commission investigation is still needed to "ensure all the questions regarding this issue, including the lack of disclosure, are answered." Inslee said he has not received a response from Apple to a statement he sent out last week.

Inslee, who is a member of the House Energy and Commerce … Read more

PALO ALTO, Calif.--President Obama's visit here this afternoon to Facebook's campus was billed as an opportunity for him to "connect with Americans across the country" through a virtual "town hall" meeting.

But it also proved to be an opportunity for the president to throw political punches at Republicans in an ongoing tussle over deficit reduction, tax policy, and a looming spat over raising the debt limit.

A deficit reduction plan recently proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican House Budget committee chairman, is "fairly radical," Obama said. Ryan aims to reduce … Read more

The Obama administration said today that it's moving ahead with a plan for broad adoption of Internet IDs despite concerns about identity centralization, and hopes to fund pilot projects next year.

At an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., administration officials downplayed privacy and civil liberties concerns about their proposal, which they said would be led by the private sector and not be required for Americans who use the Internet.

There's "no reliable way to verify identity online" at the moment, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said, citing the rising … Read more

news analysis Two U.S. senators introduced sweeping privacy legislation today that they promise will "establish a framework to protect the personal information of all Americans."

There is, however, one feature of the bill (PDF) sponsored by senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) that has gone relatively unnoticed: it doesn't apply to data mining, surveillance, or any other forms of activities that governments use to collect and collate Americans' personal information.

At a press conference in Washington, D.C., McCain said the privacy bill of rights will protect the "fundamental right of American citizens, … Read more

The U.S. Justice Department today dismissed as "absurd" any privacy and free speech concerns about its request for access to the Twitter accounts of WikiLeaks volunteers.

In a 32-page brief filed in federal court in Virginia, prosecutors characterized their request for a court order as a "routine compelled disclosure" that raises no constitutional issues.

These types of records "are widely subpoenaed by grand juries without raising 'chilling effects,' or occasioning constitutional litigation and delays," prosecutors wrote. Any claim that Twitter's logs "are subject to heightened protections under the First Amendment is … Read more

The U.S. House of Representatives voted this afternoon to overturn controversial Net neutrality regulations, a move that will invite a confrontation with President Obama if the Senate follows suit.

By a 240 to 179 vote that, as expected, fell largely along party lines, the House approved a one-page resolution that says, simply, the regulations adopted by the Federal Communications Commission last December "shall have no force or effect."

All but two Republicans backed the measure, while only six Democrats did.

"Congress has not authorized the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the Internet," said Rep. Greg … Read more

An emerging dispute over electronic privacy is testing whether President Obama will live up to his promise to protect Americans' online rights.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice criticized changes backed by Internet companies and privacy groups that would update a 1986 federal law to extend greater legal protections to cloud-computing and mobile-device users.

Yet strengthening privacy laws is precisely what Obama pledged during the 2008 presidential campaign. He told CNET at the time that: "I will work with leading legislators, privacy advocates, and business leaders to strengthen both voluntary and legally required privacy protections." … Read more

Many federal Web sites will go dark if the government shuts down tomorrow night, the White House indicated this afternoon.

A 16-page memo (PDF) to federal agencies says their Web sites may stay online only in a small number of situations, including tax collection and handling "exempted" activities such as payments and other functions that are paid for by previous annual budgets.

"The mere benefit of continued access by the public to information about the agency's activities would not warrant the retention of personnel or the obligation of funds to maintain, or update, the agency's … Read more