[HN Gopher] I requested my photographs from the Department of Ho...
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       I requested my photographs from the Department of Homeland Security
       (2015)
        
       Author : Anon84
       Score  : 91 points
       Date   : 2021-07-12 14:01 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | artificialLimbs wrote:
       | >> To request this information yourself, visit FOIAonline
       | 
       | Apparently link has been changed since article publication.
       | 
       | https://foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/request
        
         | distribot wrote:
         | I don't see DHS as a listed agency--which ones would be the
         | most interesting for an average person?
        
           | advisedwang wrote:
           | The article recommends CBP, which is listed there. (Perhaps
           | this is because DHS is a department, not an agency?)
        
       | deregulateMed wrote:
       | Is there a way to see what information Apple and Google has given
       | to the US government through PRISM?
       | 
       | I'm not radical anymore, I'm just curious what boring topics they
       | had to listen to over the years to ensure I'm not a threat.
        
         | voldacar wrote:
         | Why would there be? You can't expect them to illegally surveil
         | the whole population and then give you an easy procedural way
         | to see what they have on you
        
         | Aboh33 wrote:
         | As someone who isn't involved in any illegal activity, I would
         | welcome knowing why it feels I am overtly watched and tracked
         | more so than others, especially in real-life.
        
           | ipaddr wrote:
           | How do you know you are being tracked more than others?
        
         | unixhero wrote:
         | They give everything.
        
         | giantg2 wrote:
         | "I'm not radical anymore, I'm just curious"
         | 
         | That's what the all say... now you're really screwed lol
        
         | bellyfullofbac wrote:
         | Not knowledge, just random thoughts: Could they return "We can
         | not give you that information because it is a matter of
         | national security." (Although that's still a sign that they
         | have info on you that they gathered from Big Tech). Or they
         | could give you pages and pages covered with black rectangles
         | from margin to margin.
         | 
         | The scary thing is, they wouldn't have done any manual
         | listening/monitoring, all the data can just be fed into some
         | big data computer[1] and it spits out your "threat index".
         | 
         | For a Black Mirror episode plot, the main character hangs out
         | every Friday at a pizza place that Google Maps has mislabeled
         | as a mosque. The "AI" misclassifies his watch on a recent
         | Instagram photo as the Casio F-91W, he gets detained as he
         | tries to reenter the country, with the FBI agents not knowing
         | why he's a baddie other than the fact that the computer flagged
         | him after his threat index jumped over a threshold.
         | 
         | [1] e.g. from the NSA whisteblower:
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ThinThread: "Hayden admitted that
         | the analysis technology is the underlying basis of current NSA
         | analysis techniques"
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | wlesieutre wrote:
           | If they can deny you access to the info because of national
           | security, then "still a sign that they have info" is a solved
           | problem. They "can neither confirm nor deny any the existence
           | of any information matching your request."
           | 
           | This is known as the "Glomar response" and dates back to the
           | 1970s. I believe it hinges on "if the information existed it
           | would be classified," otherwise they would be required to
           | provide the info.
           | 
           | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glomar_response
        
         | nonameiguess wrote:
         | Unless they're breaking the law, the NSA still needs a warrant
         | to request data if you're an American citizen. If you're the
         | subject of an active investigation, law enforcement and spy
         | agencies alike tend not to tell you that and are under no
         | obligation to disclose anything. If the investigation is
         | closed, then you can request data under a general FOIA request,
         | but you'd have to know there was an investigation about you at
         | some point. If nothing else, you'd find out upon being charged
         | and your attorney would get all the data during discovery.
         | 
         | Obviously, a broad sweep program can collect unrelated data,
         | which presumably was part of the concern with PRISM. This has
         | sort of always been the case, i.e. if you put a bug in
         | someone's house, you hear everything said in the house, whether
         | by the subject of your investigation or their kids or a
         | housekeeper or whatever. But whoever is listening is supposed
         | to immediately throw away data as soon as they can determine it
         | isn't needed for their investigation.
         | 
         | So theoretically, if they ever collected anything that came
         | from you, and you were never the subject of an investigation
         | that resulted in a warrant to collect on you, the data should
         | have been discarded and could not be given to you.
         | 
         | You may or may not believe the NSA actually complies with the
         | law, but if they don't, they're probably not going to tell you.
        
           | bobsmooth wrote:
           | You don't need a warrant if one of your partner countries has
           | already spied on your citizens and will share the data.
        
             | giantg2 wrote:
             | Or just buy the data from companies like ISPs, Google, and
             | Facebook.
        
           | jaywalk wrote:
           | > You may or may not believe the NSA actually complies with
           | the law
           | 
           | If you believe that they do, I've got a bridge to sell you.
           | Congress is entirely derelict in their duties of holding them
           | accountable, and has been for a very long time.
        
             | tunap wrote:
             | Derelict? Perhaps. Complicit? Probable.
             | 
             | >FISA specifies two documents for the authorization of
             | surveillance. First, FISA allows the Justice Department to
             | obtain warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
             | Court (FISC) before _or up to 72 hours after the beginning
             | of the surveillance_. FISA authorizes a FISC judge to issue
             | a warrant if  "there is probable cause to believe that ...
             | the target of the electronic surveillance is a foreign
             | power or an agent of a foreign power." 50 U.S.C. SS
             | 1805(a)(3).
             | 
             | Emphasis mine.
        
               | ComputerGuru wrote:
               | So if surveillance doesn't last 72 hours (one and done),
               | does this verbiage leave any wiggle room for not needing
               | a FISA warrant?
        
               | remarkEon wrote:
               | I'm actually kinda interested if the "surveillance" is
               | retroactive. Meaning, do they have 72 hours to go through
               | everything that's already out there in the ether about
               | you or is it more "you can only look at active
               | communications for 72 hours and after that you need a
               | court order".
        
             | atoav wrote:
             | It is also the wrong question. In practise (as shown by the
             | snowden revalations) the actual question is not if the
             | secret services comply with the law -- it is whether the
             | law complies with the secret services.
             | 
             | In most nations where illegal practises came to light these
             | illegal practises have been legalized after the fact. The
             | breaches of fundamental laws that happened before have gone
             | unpunished.
             | 
             | So to say secret services comply with the law is really a
             | bit rich, given that when they don't law is usually
             | adjusted to fit their behaviour with no punishments for any
             | wrongdoing.
        
           | CrazyPyroLinux wrote:
           | > Unless they're breaking the law
           | 
           | http://www.hasjamesclapperbeenindictedyet.com/
        
           | adrr wrote:
           | Do they need a warrant if the company sells the data? Mobile
           | carriers were selling location dats on specific customers to
           | private companies. Banks are selling credit card purchase
           | data.
        
         | erezsh wrote:
         | > I'm not radical anymore
         | 
         | Nice try;)
        
         | snowwrestler wrote:
         | PRISM is simply the NSA's internal designation for data that is
         | sourced from FISA warrants. So, probably not.
        
       | xwdv wrote:
       | You might not want to do this without good reason, it can get you
       | put on some kind of list.
        
         | mistrial9 wrote:
         | or, exercise your rights or else you will have none?
        
         | bdamm wrote:
         | Is the list the people who check up on the government? Could be
         | a good thing.
        
         | howaboutnope wrote:
         | If nothing changes, humanity, _being human_ , is basically done
         | for. To me being well fed by virtue of being harmless would be
         | like throwing away the core of what makes my life meaningful,
         | just to extend it a bit. I lived too long in an upright
         | position to be remotely tempted by that. All of us will be dead
         | for an eternity, the one real difference we can make for
         | ourselves is what kind of person we were. Compared to that the
         | difference between living 5 minutes and 500 years doesn't even
         | register, at least not to me.
         | 
         | And hey, as faint as that hope may be: if things do change in a
         | positive manner, people might scramble to fake proof they (or
         | their parents) weren't just idle or even complicit. The same
         | list of persecuted dissidents today might tomorrow serve as a
         | whitelist for voting rights, among other things.
        
         | Spare_account wrote:
         | I wondered about this, but I didn't know if it would really
         | happen. Do we have any evidence for it?
        
           | deregulateMed wrote:
           | When a police officer asks "do you know why I pulled you
           | over?"
           | 
           | And you answer "I pled the fifth" instead of "no"
           | 
           | You did nothing wrong, but their spidy senses go wild. It's
           | like that, but with more government paperwork and database
           | updates.
        
             | pessimizer wrote:
             | Exactly. Rational (on the police/government's part), but
             | perverse (in that it punishes exercising your rights by
             | taking them away.)
        
         | dfsegoat wrote:
         | > _it can get you put on some kind of list._
         | 
         | Could you please elaborate?
        
           | xeromal wrote:
           | The request some info list. lol
        
           | wruza wrote:
           | GP probably meant that if you collect data, you may as well
           | collect the "they actually wanted to see what we have on
           | them" field.
        
         | dylan604 wrote:
         | If they have data on you, then you are already on a list.
         | Circular logic. It just so happens everybody is on the list.
         | There's no special treatment.
        
           | dudul wrote:
           | There are probably more than one list.
        
             | dylan604 wrote:
             | We're all on more than one list. Local, state, federal.
             | Airlines have lists. Stores have lists. Websites have
             | lists. At this point, I was wondering if the govt or
             | facebook has more info one you, then I remembered that if
             | FB has it, so does Big Brother.
        
         | pessimizer wrote:
         | It will definitely put you on more than one list.
        
       | ClosedPistachio wrote:
       | The title is actually, "How I requested my photographs from the
       | Department of Homeland Security" with a byline "You can make a
       | request to see your own document."
        
         | Spare_account wrote:
         | It's also from 2015, which usually merits a mention in the
         | title round here.
        
           | floatingatoll wrote:
           | The mods can fix that much more rapidly if you email them,
           | using the footer contact link.
        
       | 77pt77 wrote:
       | What really worries me about this is that anyone can effectively
       | request anyone else's data because there is no identity
       | verification.
        
         | _trampeltier wrote:
         | Since pretty every ID and all passports are leaked, it's almost
         | impossible to verifie a person online.
        
           | 77pt77 wrote:
           | Just require it to be sent as registered mail and verify
           | signatures.
           | 
           | At least it's something.
        
         | advisedwang wrote:
         | It is a crime under 5 USC 552a(i)(3)
         | https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/552a:
         | 
         | > Any person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains
         | any record concerning an individual from an agency under false
         | pretenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more
         | than $5,000.
        
           | cyberge99 wrote:
           | 5,000$ USD might be worth it for a paparazzo or other
           | neerdewel.
        
             | 77pt77 wrote:
             | That's if they are even caught.
             | 
             | Since no one verifies anything it's a worst case scenario.
        
             | shuntress wrote:
             | I am not a lawyer but I would assume that in a case like
             | that, the court would bring additional penalties equivalent
             | to the profit made using the stolen property.
        
             | advisedwang wrote:
             | The criminal record is probably more of a threat than the
             | money in such cases.
             | 
             | I'm more worried that if there is no way to get caught,
             | people won't care about the criminal penalties no matter
             | how heavy.
        
           | 77pt77 wrote:
           | So is stealing and yet it happens all the time.
        
       | _rmrf wrote:
       | What do you think would happen if an european citizen were to
       | request a GDPR data deletion of the US Department of Homeland
       | Security? Is there any chance that they would comply?
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | mataug wrote:
         | I doubt GDPR enforceable in the US
        
         | kube-system wrote:
         | From GDPR article 2:
         | 
         | > This Regulation does not apply to the processing of personal
         | data:
         | 
         | > (d) by competent authorities for the purposes of the
         | prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal
         | offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the
         | safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public
         | security.
        
         | dudul wrote:
         | No, they wouldn't comply.
        
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       (page generated 2021-07-12 23:02 UTC)