Another major blow to US citizens' privacy, as the Senate passed a bill giving the FBI and CIA the power to check your browser history without a warrant.
Senators Ron Wyden of Oregan and Senator Steve Daines of Montana have proposed introducing privacy into the Patriot Act, which gives law enforcement the oversight power to maintain national security.
However amendment of privacy still needs only one vote, as many senators did not show up. (Don't get your hopes up, someone will find out)
This vote is a step backwards in protecting the privacy of US citizens on many levels. There is already a growing level of concern among privacy advocates, as governments around the world use the Koranic pandemic as a shield to introduce new surveillance measures without much debate.
Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight For The Future, a non-profit digital support team, said on the Motherboard that the Patriot Act should be abolished in its entirety:
The Patriot Act must be abolished altogether, and buried in the ground. It is one of the worst laws passed in the last century and there is no indication that the mass surveillance programs it allows have ever saved a human life.
Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the FBI and other agencies can request that an Internet service provider that useste ta data of your browsing without the need for a warrant.
Όπως αναφέρει το The Register, οι συνδέσεις HTTPS σε ιστότοπους και το SSH tunneling μπορούν να δυσκολέψουν αυτές τις εταιρείες να αναζητήσουν τα δεδομένα σας. Επιπλέον, μπορείτε να χρησιμοποιήσετε το πρόγραμμα browsing Tor which provides an additional level of anonymity through a three-tier security.