Gag Orders! What these companies CAN'T tell you

3 years ago
20

Many companies are forced to hand over customer data, or weaken their security, and they can’t tell you about it. The FBI has a thing called a National Security Letter, which is a request for information and gag orders rolled into one. Although judges have ruled them to be unconstitutional, they are more common than you realize, and each branch and agency in the US government has something similar.

Recipients of the letter are forced to comply with requests, whether they be weakening security or handing over data, and companies face serious criminal sanctions if they publicly discuss what is being done to their company. You can’t even tell anyone you received a National Security Letter.

The letter from the FBI is signed by an attorney, and you can’t even tell a lawyer about it.

How many platforms that we use, which we think are secure and private, are under gag orders? Probably a lot more than we think. One tool that privacy platforms use to warn people if their site has been compromised is a “warrant canary”. They’re not ideal, because they rely on people knowing about them, noticing when they’re taken down, and drawing the right conclusions from that, but they’re still probably the best tool we have.

Let me know of any sites you’ve found that still have warren canaries, or any that have been used effectively.

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Watch on LBRY:
https://open.lbry.com/@NaomiBrockwell:4/Gag-Orders-what-they-cant-tell-you:c?r=FDreZsjE2C4VBDAr8tVX1a56tJRe5Hpq

Here are a bunch of products I like and use. Using these links helps support the channel and future videos!

Recommended Books:

Permanent Record - Edward Snowden
https://amzn.to/305negc

No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State - Glenn Greenwald
https://amzn.to/2UQmJ4m

What has the government done to our money - Rothbard
https://amzn.to/2KMzmcu

Naomi's Privacy Bag: some of my favorite products to help protect your privacy!

Use the Brave browser! https://brave.com/nao076

USB-C to ethernet adapter:
https://amzn.to/2lOVBoy

Lightening to ethernet adapter:
https://amzn.to/2nWyNns

Faraday bag wallet (signal stopping, to protect your fob, credit card, and phone)
https://amzn.to/2SUkPhu

Data Blocker (if you're charging your phone in an unknown port, use this so that no data is transferred)
https://amzn.to/2SVh0J2

Computer privacy screen (use your computer in public? Keep your information safe!)
https://amzn.to/2SXYHmf

Phone privacy screen (don't let people in public see your private data)
https://amzn.to/2YyJMnH

Camera cover (for computers and phones, so no one can access your camera without you knowing)
https://amzn.to/2Mt7Hic

Privacy Tip: Don't use wifi, and if you must, append the tag ‘_nomap’ or ‘_optout’ to your SSID to stop other websites tracking your location.

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