All of Reddit is now discussing this...
The FBI has successfully power grabbed by rule change. The new rules state:
Rule 41. Search and Seizure
(b) Venue for a Warrant Application. At the request of a federal law enforcement officer or an attorney for the government:
(6) a magistrate judge with authority in any district where activities related to a crime may have occurred has authority to issue a warrant to use remote access to search electronic storage media and to seize or copy electronically stored information located within or outside that district if:
(A) the district where the media or information is located has been concealed through technological means; or>
(B) in an investigation of a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030(a)(5), the media are protected computers that have been damaged without authorization and are located in five or more districts.
These rules ignore jurisdiction, and anyone who uses Bitcoin and or Tor is now potentially a suspect. Any computer anywhere in the world can be put under electronic surveillance and monitored. It doesn't seem to matter whether or not an American citizen is behind that computer.
The Supreme Court has ruled this rule change constitutional.
We may be witnessing the beginning of the crypto crackdown. The NSA hack certainly didn't help. The EU is also contemplating putting together a central database of cryptocurrency users. As crpyto-currency becomes truly anonymous with technologies like Zcash, I expect the crackdown to become much more dramatic, more extreme, more intrusive, and i expect it to be permanent surveillance on cryptocurrency users.
What do you all think? Am I being paranoid here?
They are in panic , panic of losing control over people . Power to the people
They always have control. Whether it's CointelPro or War on Drugs or War on Terror, it's always been there. This is just a technological upgrade to the limitless control the government maintains. They justify it as a means of combating crime, but how many of these crimes will turn out to be victimless?
What they need is someone with balls big enough to arrest and prosecute people that are in government and other high positions. Those people are the real gangsters gangbangers rapists murderers , you name it they done it .
Steemit is not anonymous. It connects to your Facebook : it connects to you. Facebook connects to FBI.
So anyone on Steem is already being monitored quite easily. People who make the mistake of discussing criminal activity on Steem while connecting it to their names are going to see how far the surveillance goes.
Why is this happening? There are fears of terrorism and crime, it's also election season.
Where could this lead?
It could be a short term crackdown which might be reversed by congress, but if congress lets it stand then the FBI will become significantly empowered to investigate cyber activities globally, using global techniques. This could be good when it protects lives, but it is also a power which can easily be abused, and could easily become like a new War on Drugs situation.
Be aware.
If this is indeed passed, you are not being paranoid. You are simply stating facts. I think it is important to be aware about it. Fortunately, for me, I live outside of the U.S, and the FBI has no jurisdiction outside of the U.S.
Wrong. This law gives the FBI jurisdiction outside the US.
Source?
Minority report & Person of Interest coming to fruition ! scary