In a letter sent Thursday to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the lawmakers say that because VPNs obscure a user's true location, and because intelligence agencies presume that communications of unknown origin are foreign, Americans may be inadvertently waiving the privacy protections they're entitled to under the law.

Several federal agencies, including the FBI, NSA, and FTC, have recommended that consumers use VPNs to protect their privacy. But following that advice may inadvertently cost Americans the very protections they're seeking.

The letter was signed by members of the Democratic Party’s progressive flank: Senators Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, Edward Markey, and Alex Padilla, along with Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Sara Jacobs.

top 69 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 164 points 7 months ago

...Americans may be inadvertently waiving the privacy protections they’re entitled to under the law.

We have no protections and no privacy, laws or no.

  • source
  • [–] 113 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    Old news... If you are using a VPN, it's "foreign communications" and subject to spying; and if you aren't using a VPN, they route the data through a room that's considered a foreign enclave (like an embassy), turning it into "foreign communications" and subject to spying.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 104 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    So in the US, locking your metaphorical doors or windows, or closing your digital curtains, means that authorities can presume you are hiding something and your 4th Amendments rights cease to be valid.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 61 points 7 months ago

    All while abusing Third Party Doctrine to buy your data from advertisers and Palantir anyway.

    If a VPN routing of someone in Chicago is via Texas and California, what judge would see that as "foreign"? Oh, right, one of their idiot ones they like to give cases like this.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago*

    Well, while I agree with that sentiment, you may be looking at it the wrong way.

    It's not that locking your doors gives them permission, it's that they're just doing it whether you lock your doors or not.

    Imagine you're the NSA, imagine you're already spying on every American who isn't using a VPN (not because you have any legal right to, but because you can). Now ask yourself, where's your biggest blind spot?

    This is why they want legal permission to spy on people using VPNs. If they can do it legally, they can just walk right into a VPN's server room and install whatever eyes they want on the inside.

    All I'm saying, is that there is no constitutional justification for this, they don't care. Their plan is simple, spy on everyone, fuck the law.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 75 points 7 months ago

    Lmao, what privacy protections? This is the land of the grift, you're more protected using a VPN than without one.

  • source
  • [–] 74 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    I hate the way this is getting it twisted.

    Just because your signal is misinterpreted does not mean you've waived your rights. It means their system and it's use of citizen's data is flawed and violates the law.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 14 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    I thought the law said that inadvertent collection has to be deleted asap not that you forfeited your rights.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 9 points 7 months ago*

    Right? The real irony is that those who are paid to enforce the law, and who're sworn to uphold it, feel they're above it - beyond reproach.

    The system is sick with apathy and outright corruption.

    We must save ourselves

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 53 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    Americans may be inadvertently waiving the privacy protections they're entitled to under the law.

    lmao

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 43 points 7 months ago

    I already assume the gubmint can see everything else I do. The VPN just keeps my ISP from cancelling my service.

  • source
  • [–] 37 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    As if they weren't already scooping up people's information already. The point of VPN and other defenses is just to make investigation too expensive to do as a free action.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 68 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    Did they stop spying on americans. Im pretty sure snowden is still living in russia.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 35 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    America should have took him seriously.

    I really think there's no worth in the average American people anymore.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 24 points 7 months ago

    Yeah it was pretty big. So much of modern times it just boggles my mind for anyone who grew up in the 80's. We are literally how we portrayed russia or what we would become like if we let communism win. A whistle blower had to flee to russia. 100% bin laden won. Half my life has been in this millenium and there is a stark difference before and after (even with there being plenty which headed us in this direction).

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 21 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (6 children)

    Things keep going on their current path, I'll be using i2p fairly soon.

    I wonder how the goberment feels about that?

    Edit: spelling

  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago (1 child)

    How is that different than Tor?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    I2p is mostly a seperate network where everyone acts as a node. Its fast enough to torrent. The clearweb is accessible but it was added on as an after-thought. Personal sites are easy to set up. You can search for things in I2P. Nothing is really indexed in Tor afaik.

    Tor is slow and is designed to access the clearweb with the darkweb as an after-thought. According to Mental Outlaw. Again, I have no experience, just going by what I've heard.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 20 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    Does anyone seriously believe that not using a VPN would save you from governmental snooping?

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 19 points 7 months ago

    Lmao then they bitch and moan when people abroad start cutting back on us-based tech and enforcing open standards

  • source
  • They already spy on everyone. They probably do worse and promote social manipulation too.

    Humanity is owned. And they are trying to own it further with air and digitizing everything. And they will succeed because most people don't give a fuck and just consume all the bullshit and lifestyles marketed to them.

  • source
  • [–] 14 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    like in the old days of illegal wiretapping when throughout the conversation one would randomly say "bomb", "arson", "nuke" etc. It's time to use more VPN to generate such a level of white noise where it becomes impractical to track VPN access...

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [+] 38 points 7 months ago (7 children)
  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago (5 children)

    Lemmy, where the ND people are aware enough to know that by nature they get impulsively angry and need to cool off. I am not good at it.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    I can't tell which, if any, of these are what "ND" is supposed to mean here.

    So, uh, "ND"?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • load more comments (1 reply)
    [–] 26 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    I'm curious how this works in action. If you use a VPN provider that doesn't do logging, and inherently you're traffic is encrypted via that VPN, what are they spying on? That's kind of the whole purpose of running a VPN in the first place.

    If they happen to somehow see the unencrypted traffic, I hope they enjoy sifting through ass loads of torrent data. Good luck, shit bags.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 14 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    It's not so much spying as moving you to the front of the line for suspicious persons.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 25 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    I hope they have fun watching me pirate the entirety of the Pokémon anime then.

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    I hope they enjoy Farscape, because that's what they're getting of they eavesdrop me.

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago
    [+] 8 points 7 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 8 points 7 months ago

    reddit pretty much would ban people using vpn , so they know too.

  • source
  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago

    It was the Swedes causing mass shootings in America the whole time!

    • Republicans probably
  • source
  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    Doesn't CGNat obscure the user true location in the same way? And what kind of VPN are we talking about? Company with exit node in the country? Commercial ones only?

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago

    I guess I am on the "watch list" as my company uses multiple different VPN solutions so I can access work files cross offices and remotely when in the field.

    Also, what about personal home VPNs where I want to route all my device traffic back to my home when I am out of the house like at a cafe/mall/airport?

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 11 points 7 months ago

    No.

    Stop fearbaiting.

  • source
  • [–] 4 points 7 months ago

    Welp I hope they enjoy the most degen shitposts my dumb brain can come up with

  • source
  • [–] 7 points 7 months ago*

    Just think of all the children they will be protecting! (Sarcasm)

    I note the range of Republicans and dRepublicans (Democrats are Republicans in every meaningful way) who support this action (not sarcasm)

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago

    I didn’t know this tbh so thanks (and also that’s some BS)

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago

    Not that shocked, over here.

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    Wow! Interesting I didn’t know

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    Anyone who REALLY wants to see what porn you watch and other info will bypass your silly VPN like its nothing. VPN only really helps when your ISP monitors your every KB and legitimately sends you threatening letter to stop torrenting that weird porn.

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    They will waste waaaaaaaaaay too much time chasing ghosts for this to make sense.

  • source
  • 37 comments in c/privacy@lemmy.ml view that post
    9 comments in c/privacy@programming.dev view that post