Senator, who has repeatedly warned about secret US #GovernmentSurveillance, sounds new alarm over ‘#CIA activities’

by Zack Whittaker, February 6, 2026

Excerpt: "In 2011, #RonWyden said that the U.S. government was relying on a secret interpretation of the #PatriotAct, which he said — without disclosing the nature of his concerns — created a 'gap between what the public thinks the law says and what the American government secretly thinks the law says.'

"Two years later, then-#NSA contractor #EdwardSnowden revealed that the National Security Agency was relying on its secret interpretation of the Patriot Act to force U.S. phone companies, including Verizon, to turn over the call records of hundreds of millions of Americans on an ongoing basis.

"Since then, Wyden has sounded the alarm on how the U.S. government collects the contents of people’s communications; revealed that the Justice Department barred Apple and Google from disclosing that federal authorities had been secretly demanding the contents of their customers’ push notifications; and said that an unclassified report that #CISA has refused to release contains 'shocking details' about national security threats facing U.S. phone companies.

"As noted by Techdirt’s Mike Masnick, we may not know yet why Wyden sounded the siren about the CIA’s activities, but every time Wyden has warned, he has also been vindicated."

Full article:
https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/06/senator-who-has-repeatedly-warned-about-secret-u-s-government-surveillance-sounds-new-alarm-over-cia-activities/

#USPol #Fascism #Authoritarianism #SilencingDissent #Spying #USCitizens #WarrantlessSurveillance

The backlash against Flocks cameras which are being weaponized for maga and miller is starting. The City of Los Altos Hills has stopped using theirs and the whole County of Santa Clara is trying to hit pause until they get answers #surveillance #governmentsurveillance #cameras #Flock #FlockSafety #ICE #NoIce

https://www.paloaltoonline.com/technology/2026/02/02/santa-clara-county-may-ditch-camera-vendor-amid-privacy-issues/

Now this is an IT company. Can you imagine all the weird stuff people will be able to experience when their governments demand their citizens to have a digital ID?

#DigitalID #DigitalPrivacy #SurveillanceState #PrivacyMatters #BigBrother #DigitalDystopia #GovernmentSurveillance #CivilLiberties #DataPrivacy #TechEthics
https://cloudisland.nz/@parisba/115710491106723110

“EU Revives Plan for Year-Long Data Retention Across Digital Services, Including Encrypted Apps … Officials insist they do not intend to compromise encryption or read private messages. What they want is the so-called metadata: who contacted whom, from where, at what time, and through which service.” – https://reclaimthenet.org/eu-revives-plan-for-year-long-data-retention (via @fkamiah17)

“As NSA General Counsel Stewart Baker has said, ‘metadata absolutely tells you everything about somebody’s life. If you have enough metadata, you don’t really need content.’ When I quoted Baker at a recent debate at Johns Hopkins University, my opponent, General Michael Hayden, former director of the NSA and the CIA, called Baker’s comment ‘absolutely correct,’ and raised him one, asserting, ‘We kill people based on metadata.’” – https://cyber-peace.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/We-Kill-People-Based-on-Metadata.pdf

#dataRetention #surveillance #governmentSurveillance #EU #metadata #EuropeanCouncil #BigBrother

Sanchar Saathi App: After Govt. Diktat To Mobile Makers Internet Erupts In Hilarious ‘Stalker Saathi’ Memes

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://in.mashable.com/culture/103109/sanchar-saathi-app-after-govt-diktat-to-mobile-makers-internet-erupts-in-hilarious-stalker-saathi-me