Government Surveillance and the Internet in a Post-Snowden World

Full Recording—When “Trust Us” Isn’t Enough: Government Surveillance in a Post-Snowden World (January 9, 2014)

A Dangerous Database of Personal Information (1:57): Dragnet surveillance gives intelligence agencies access to personal information in bulk, with tremendous potential for abuse.

How the NSA Threatens Cybersecurity (1:39): The NSA has weakened internet security, creating serious economic and security vulnerabilities.

A Step Too Far (1:50): The NSA has considered using its knowledge of individuals' online dating and viewing of pornography to publicly discredit them.

Encryption Could End Dragnet Surveillance (2:21): When use of encryption becomes widespread, bulk surveillance could become too expensive to remain practical.

Parallel Construction—The Dubious Arrangement Between NSA and DEA (0:47): The DEA receives intelligence from NSA and hides it from the courts.

Technical Understanding Missing From Oversight (1:58): Government no longer has the technical expertise required to provide necessary oversight of the intelligence agencies.

Many of the big Internet companies whose services, applications, and operating systems we all use occupy a unique position of power: To surveil us, governments need their help. However, these companies and their advertising-supported business models require that we trust them with our sensitive, private data. In the wake of the NSA disclosures, that trust is vanishing.

Can the companies find a way to restore user trust without destroying their advertising-supported services? What happens when governments go nuclear and demand the companies’ encryption keys?

At a recent talk, Open Society Fellow Chris Soghoian explained the ominous implications of widespread government surveillance.

Listen to the entire event, along with selected excerpts, above.

Topics

National Security and Counterterrorism

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