Middle Schoolers Win C-SPAN Prizes for NSA Documentaries

[-nelly-]

Remember when Rep. Mike Rogers likened opponents of pernicious cybersecurity legislation to 14-year-olds? It turns out that middle-school-age students are also well-prepared to debate him on the NSA's programs as well.

EFF congratulates students from two middle schools who took home top prizes in the C-SPAN StudentCam 2014 competition for young filmmakers with their documentaries on mass surveillance. Students were tasked with answering the question: “What’s the most important issue the U.S. Congress should consider in 2014?”

According to the C-SPAN press release:

Peter Jasperse, Antonia Torfs-Leibman and Madeleine Hutchins, eighth graders at Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring, Md., are national First Prize winners in the Middle School division. Peter, Antonia and Madeleine will share $3,000 for their First Prize documentary, 'The NSA: The Lengths of America's Security,' about NSA surveillance."

The video, featuring an interview with author James Bamford, will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. E.T. and throughout the day on April 23. You can also watch it online.

Ben Blum, a filmmaker at Saint Mark's School in San Rafael, California, scored second place in the same category for his documentary "Data Obsession," featuring EFF Activist Parker Higgins. It will air on Friday, April 11 and you can watch it below:

Source

[ViperScale]

I didn't watch the entire thing kinda jumped around on bits of it but it still has the problem of thinking the internet is private.... it isn't and never will be. The internet is a no different than driving around on the road. There is nothing against the law for cops to follow you around and watch where you drive to. It is not illegal for them to look in the window and see what you are in your car. It is illegal for them to open the car door and look in boxes (aka https), which i am sure they do on rare cases without search warrant. So much of what they do isn't illegal and i am sorry like it or not nothing wrong with it.

The problem is because it is all happening on wires that you can't physically see people think it is private... sorry it is not.

[Lightsky]

So it's ok with you as long as it is legal, right?

[ViperScale]

So it is wrong to look at someone walking down the street?

Lets see if we can get that one by too... cops no longer can look at cars driving down the street lol. It is no different.

[Lightsky]

Why would they follow me though? Why would they be interested in where I'm going? Am I felon?

[ViperScale]

They do it every day of the week they sit around hidden behind trees and overpasses and watch where you go so they can see if you are doing illegal stuff (aka speeding) when they see you speeding they give you a ticket.

It is the exact same thing /shrug

Some cities even have cameras filming almost every road / intersection to catch cars that way (or those running red lights). How is that any different then sitting there watching internet intersections?

The thing is it is alot harder to record every road in the country but to record every road on the internet is much easier.

[Lightsky]

But they're not just watching traffic. They record calls, browsing habits, contacts , read e-mails etc. They even try to put backdoors in cryptographic algorithms!
How is that the same? Even if it's legal, it's still wrong..

[ViperScale]

Backdoors into encryption is the only thing really illegal. Everything else is public information. If you don't want them doing it you better get good at blocking all of google's ips because where do you think they make their money?

Once again just because you think information is private doesn't mean that it is private... it is public record information.

[Lightsky]

If you try to do the same, you're gonna go to jail...

[ViperScale]

We do it where i work...sorry it is not, I know we are not the only people who do.