{"id":282306,"date":"2021-06-23T21:53:04","date_gmt":"2021-06-23T18:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-big-tech-created-a-data-treasure-trove-for-police\/"},"modified":"2021-06-23T21:53:04","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T18:53:04","slug":"how-big-tech-created-a-data-treasure-trove-for-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-big-tech-created-a-data-treasure-trove-for-police\/","title":{"rendered":"#How Big Tech created a data \u2018treasure trove\u2019 for police"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#How Big Tech created a data \u2018treasure trove\u2019 for police<\/strong>”
\n<\/p>\n

\n

PROVIDENCE, RI \u2014 When US law enforcement officials need to cast a wide net for information, they\u2019re increasingly turning to the vast digital ponds of personal data created by Big Tech companies via the devices and online services that have hooked billions of people around the world.<\/p>\n

Data compiled by four of the biggest tech companies shows that law enforcement requests for user information \u2014 phone calls, emails, texts, photos, shopping histories, driving routes and more \u2014 have more than trip<\/a>led in the US since 2015. Police are also increasingly savvy about covering their tracks so as not to alert suspects of their interest.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the backdrop for recent revelations that the Trump-era US Justice Department sought data from App<\/a>le, Microsoft and Google about members of Congress, their aides and news<\/a> reporters in leak investigations \u2014 then pursued court orders that blocked those companies from informing their targets.<\/p>\n

In just the first half of 2020 \u2014 the most recent data available \u2014 Apple, Google, Facebook<\/a> and Microsoft together fielded more than 112,000 data requests from local, state and federal officials. The companies agreed to hand over some data in 85 percent of those cases. Facebook, including its Instagram service, accounted for the largest number of disclosures.<\/p>\n

Consider Newport, Rhode Island, a coastal city of 24,000 residents that attracts a flood of summer tourists. Fewer than 100 officers patrol the city \u2014 but they make multiple requests a week for online data from tech companies.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because most crimes \u2013 from larceny and financial scams to a recent\u00a0fatal house party stabbing<\/a>\u00a0at a vacation rental booked online \u2013 can be at least partly traced on the internet. Tech providers, especially social media platforms, offer a \u201ctreasure trove of information\u201d that can help solve them, said Lt. Robert Salter, a supervising police detective in Newport.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything happens on Facebook,\u201d Salter said. \u201cThe amount of information you can get from people\u2019s conversations online \u2014 it\u2019s insane.\u201d<\/p>\n

As ordinary people have become increasingly dependent on Big Tech services to help manage their lives, American law enforcement officials have grown far more savvy about technology<\/a> than they were five or six years ago, said Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s created what Cohn calls \u201cthe golden age of government surveillance.\u201d Not only has it become far easier for police to trace the online trails left by suspects, they can also frequently hide their requests by obtaining gag orders from judges and magistrates. Those orders block Big Tech companies from notifying the target of a subpoena or warrant of law enforcement\u2019s interest in their information \u2014 contrary to the companies\u2019 stated policies.<\/p>\n

Of course, there\u2019s often a reason for such secrecy, said Andrew Pak, a former federal prosecutor. It helps prevent investigations getting sidetracked because someone learns about it, he said \u2014\u201cthe target, perhaps, or someone close to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Longstanding opposition to such gag orders has recently resurfaced in the wake of the Trump-era orders. Apple in 2018 shared phone and account data generated by two Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee, but the politicians didn\u2019t find out until May, once a series<\/a> of gag orders expired.<\/p>\n

Microsoft also shared data about a congressional aide and had to wait more than two years before telling that person. Brad Smith, Microsoft\u2019s president, last week called for an end to the overuse of secret gag orders, arguing in a Washington Post opinion piece that \u201cprosecutors too often are exploiting technology to abuse our fundamental freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics like Cohn have called for revision of US surveillance laws drawn up years ago when the police and prosecutors typically had to deliver warrants to the home of the person being targeted for searches. Now that most personal information is kept in the equivalent of vast digital storehouses controlled by Big Tech companies, such searches can proceed in secret.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur surveillance laws are really based on the idea that if something is really important, we store it at home and that doesn\u2019t pass the giggle test these days,\u201d Cohn said. \u201cIt\u2019s just not true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many tech companies are quick to point out that the majority of the information they are forced to share is considered \u201cnon-content\u201d data. But that can include useful details such as the basic personal details you supply when you register for an account, or the metadata that shows if and when you called or messaged someone, though not what you said to them.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement can also ask tech companies to preserve any data generated by a particular user, which prevents the target from deleting it. Doing so doesn\u2019t require a search warrant or any judicial oversight, said Armin Tadayon, a cybersecurity associate at advisory firm the Brunswick Group.<\/p>\n

If police later find reasonable grounds for conducting a search, they can return with a warrant and seize the preserved data. If not, the provider deletes the copies and \u201cthe user likely never finds out,\u201d Tadayon said.<\/p>\n

In Newport, getting a search warrant for richer online data isn\u2019t that difficult. Salter said it requires a quick trip to a nearby courthouse to seek a judge\u2019s approval; some judges are also available after hours for emergency requests. And if a judge finds there is probable cause to search through online data, tech companies almost always comply.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the companies do play ball,\u201d Salter said. \u201cWe can speak with people, get questions answered. They\u2019re usually pretty helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly all big tech companies \u2014 from Amazon to rental sites like Airbnb, ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft and service providers like Verizon \u2014 now have teams to respond to such requests and regularly publish reports about how much they disclosed. Many say they work to narrow overly broad requests and reject those that aren\u2019t legally valid.<\/p>\n

Some of the most dramatic increases in requests have been to tech companies that cater to younger people. As the messaging app Snapchat has grown in popularity, so have government requests for its data. Snap, the company behind the app, fielded nearly 17,000 data requests in the first six months of 2020, compared to 762 in the same period of 2015.<\/p>\n

Salter said the fact that we\u2019re all doing so much online means police detectives need to stay tech-savvy. But training courses for how to file such requests aren\u2019t hard to find.<\/p>\n

For those worried about the growing volume of online data sought by law enforcement, Salter said: \u201cDon\u2019t commit crimes and don\u2019t use your computer and phones to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJudges are not going to sign off on something if we don\u2019t have probable cause to go forward,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to look at people\u2019s information without having something to go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Cohn said more tech companies should be using encryption technology to make all personal information, including metadata, virtually impossible to decipher without a user key to unlock it.<\/p>\n

Until then, she said, police can short circuit constitutional protections against unreasonable searches \u201cby just going to the company instead of coming directly to us.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

For forums sites go to Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#How Big Tech created a data \u2018treasure trove\u2019 for police” PROVIDENCE, RI \u2014 When US law enforcement officials need to cast a wide net for information, they\u2019re increasingly turning to the vast digital ponds of personal data created by Big Tech companies via the devices and online services that have hooked billions of people around…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":282307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/06\/big-tech-2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[110108,4998,12115,4976,81180,4965],"class_list":["post-282306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-6-23-21","tag-crime","tag-police","tag-social-media","tag-surveillance","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}