this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2026
210 points (96.9% liked)

Technology

83098 readers
2746 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

In a letter sent Thursday to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, the lawmakers say that because VPNs obscure a user's true location, and because intelligence agencies presume that communications of unknown origin are foreign, Americans may be inadvertently waiving the privacy protections they're entitled to under the law.

Several federal agencies, including the FBI, NSA, and FTC, have recommended that consumers use VPNs to protect their privacy. But following that advice may inadvertently cost Americans the very protections they're seeking.

The letter was signed by members of the Democratic Party’s progressive flank: Senators Ron Wyden, Elizabeth Warren, Edward Markey, and Alex Padilla, along with Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Sara Jacobs.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Cocodapuf@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Well, while I agree with that sentiment, you may be looking at it the wrong way.

It's not that locking your doors gives them permission, it's that they're just doing it whether you lock your doors or not.

Imagine you're the NSA, imagine you're already spying on every American who isn't using a VPN (not because you have any legal right to, but because you can). Now ask yourself, where's your biggest blind spot?

This is why they want legal permission to spy on people using VPNs. If they can do it legally, they can just walk right into a VPN's server room and install whatever eyes they want on the inside.

All I'm saying, is that there is no legal justification for this, they don't care. Their plan is simple, spy on everyone, fuck the law.