If you read this, you are entitled to collect $100....

I understand that there is a lot of uncertainty and pandemonium at the moment. I do not want to add to this one bit. However, I believe it is my civic duty to raise awareness of a bill being discussed on the legislative floor at the moment. Amidst this chaos, freedoms are being infringed upon. This will be done in two parts.

PART 1

To gain a full understanding of what is occurring we must return to September 11th, 2001. On this date tragedy struck. A day that has lived in infamy and will continue to leave its mark on the coming ages. The twin towers were destroyed by hijacked planes in an extremist plot. In response to this tragic terrorist attack, congress began to compose what would be known as the PATRIOT Act. 

This newly found act aimed at preventing any further loss of American life being attributed to terrorist activities and/or actions. It was approved in the Senate by a vote of 98-1. The sole senator that objected to this act was Russell Feingold. He cited his concerns of "a significant infringement on personal liberty". Further, he warned against "weakening ourselves by giving up the cherished freedoms that they[terrorists] seek to destroy." The vast majority of senators voted in favor of the act attributing their decision to the climate and pressure following quite possibly the worst terrorist blow on American soil. 

There were multiple attempts to pass components of the PATRIOT Act before 9/11, but it is claimed the proceedings of September 11th provided the environment and leverage necessary to get it passed. As a result of the frenzy and the need for unity and strength, most Americans did not realize the extent of what had been ratified into law. It must be stated that this act did contain good intentions by shading Lady Liberty from the cruel sun of foreign actors, unfortunately, it grew a poisonous apple in that very shade. A lesser of two evils reference may be applied here.

Additionally, in the years following 9/11 and the ratification of this act 762 people were wrongfully arrested for suspicion of being "Israeli military or intelligence operatives" that were conducting surveillance of the United States. Yet, not a single one of these alleged spies was charged with any form of terrorism. Coinciding with the PATRIOT Act was the "largest restructuring of the US Government in Contemporary history". The Paradox of Theseus's ship focuses our attention on the potential danger of restructuring, however, our hand is forced as the past 244 years have witnessed exponential development and growth. New, unimaginable threats are created, consequently, new solutions and systems are needed. It is now vital to be mindful of the impact our reconstruction has going into a new age.

We were content with knowing the government was improving the security and safety of our homeland. When we finally started to dive down the rabbit hole of this act, it was already too late and appearing before our Red Queen's court revealed itself to be futile. The paper of a federal act is a one-way conduit for the ink to a courthouse gavel. Now flash-forward 20 years and the tactics have not changed.

I have attached Russell Feingold’s statement on the Senate floor to finish part 1.

Sen. Russell Feingold's Statement on the USA PATRIOT Act (10/25/01)

PART 2

Without End-to-End Encryption, we do not have liberty, freedom, or the pursuit of happiness. I acknowledge this is a bold statement and I hope its necessity will make itself apparent.

Encryption is what allows for truly private communication, or at least as close as we can get. It's power has been wielded from the likes of Julius Caesar, see Caesar Cipher, to the nazis, see Enigma Machine. See the following example for a brief explanation.

The concept of encryption lies in encoding a message so that only the intended recipient may read it. One of the most basic is the Caesar Cipher, which implements the concept of substituting letters for other letters in the alphabet. For example, let us say we have the message “FREE THE PEOPLE”. Next, we will replace each letter with the letter that is located 7 places after it in the alphabet. The result is “MYLL AOL WLVWSL”.

(Source: McGill University CS)

Modern-day encryption methods utilize very large prime numbers and are astronomically more complex, however, this is the basis of encryption and privacy. With this knowledge, we are caught-up to the present-day Senate floor.

The Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act, or EARN IT Act. We would be the beacon of freedom and liberty, if our representatives cared as much about our inalienable rights as they do about catchy acronyms. The act's outward-facing motive is to alter and allegedly improve the "framework governing the prevention of online sexual exploitation of children." The Congressional Research Service highlights the act's four main points:

At this point in my research, I was in favor of this act. I care about ending pediatric sexual exploitation and pedophilia as much as the next person, but I could not ignore the greasy "best practices" clause (the second bullet point) that has slipped its way through the oil pipes of greed and made its way into the bill.

The best practices clause is dangerous due to the following. Currently, in the United States companies (ex Online Service Providers) are shielded from the liability of a user's chosen use of the platform, ie child pornography, trading of herbs. This shield is enabled through Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. The best practices clause aims directly at the immunity provided by Section 230. It does this by a 19-person council led by Attorney General William Barr. This council has complete power of determination over what is to be considered best practices behind closed doors and with no oversight.

Barr's view on encryption can be best summed up by an excerpt he wrote with fellow officials from the Five Eyes:

This clause threatens to take away providers Section 230 immunity if they do not follow the obligations laid forth by the secret council of elderly white men. What does history tell us about this scenario? Due to this absolute power combined with previously expressed opinions of encryption, there is a realistic likelihood end-to-end encryption would be a “no-no” when referring to the “best practices”. Its understood practice does not make perfect, but at least have it synonymous with progress not regress. The next step would be the creation of a backdoor for whatever encryption is utilized by the provider. I want to clarify that backdoors are never secure. The point of a backdoor is to make a system more vulnerable. An easier avenue of attack the penetrator can use and abuse. Weakening encryption is interchangeable with weakening democracy and the bill of rights. Continuing along this route will lead us to little cents of rights.

The violations of the proposed EARN IT act range from impermissible regulation of editorial activity to failing strict scrutiny to eliminating the need for probable cause and thus allowing for warrantless searches. I do not have the space to fully dive into the negative legal implications and uncertain benefits. It is evident that the tax-benefit analysis results in a negative balance that intends to shackle Lady Liberty and extinguish her torch.

The terrifying part of this act is its introduction by a bipartisan hodgepodge of democrats and republicans led by Lindsey Graham. A senate judiciary committee is evaluating the act today, July 2nd, 2020. 

Check out this petition to voice your opinion on the matter!

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/dont-let-congress-kill-encryption?source=direct_link&

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/s3398

PART 3

I know I only said 2 parts, but you still have to get your $100, right? 

The most valuable resource for the past few years and foreseeable future is data.

Right now we hand over our information for free and in some cases, we pay companies to take our data. So far in the existence of humankind there has been one method theorized to sustainably and perpetually keep control over a population. The premise is simple: convince individuals to hand over their liberties and freedoms willingly, then train them to say thank you. This technique is similar to what we use to teach small children or dogs manners. Like I stated before, legislators care an awful lot about cool sounding acronyms and repeat the identical immoral strategies.

Q: How does this fit into your $100?

A: Research conducted by the Foundation for Economic Education, estimated that the average Facebook User's data is worth approximately drumroll please.... $100.

At this point sweeping comprehensive legislation to protect the future of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is deemed a necessity. Citizens of the United States as well as any other country in which data is harvested, nearly everywhere, need to be given the option of selling their data for the fair market price. I hope as a nation we continue to aspire to be the beacon of light on the free world. We can not standby while we turn into a Hydra Esque Project INSIGHT that the American NSA, among other intelligence agencies, has shown a tendency to aim for.

We are on a trajectory to see a continual peeling of these liberties until our very core is exposed, then smashed into pieces and eaten. There is the future to witness whether the perpetuation of the allowance and acceptance of these invasive acts by the American people ceases or continues to march on. Which side are we on folks?

Stay safe, sane, and sanitized y'all.

Happy 4th of July. Remember, remember!

https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/97690