June 24, 2014

These 7 Democrats Sent Staffers and Interns to an Anti-NSA “Party”

<a href="http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-safety-concept-opened-padlock-on-digital/466487479/popup?sq=encryption/f=CPIHVX/s=DynamicRank">maxkabakov</a>/Thinkstock

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On Monday, seven members of Congress, all Democrats, sent representatives, either staffers or interns, to attend a Capitol Hill “cryptoparty,” where they learned how to defend their online communications from the NSA and other snoops. The party was sponsored by Reps. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), two vocal NSA critics.

There were about 25 people in attendance, according to Jamila Brown, a spokesperson for Access, an internet freedom group co-hosting the event. She says that representatives for Lofgren and Grayson were there, along with representatives of Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.), Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.). 

Cryptoparties are part of an international grassroots movement to spread encryption, including information about the Tor network, which allows users to engage in anonymous web browsing. (Former contractor Edward Snowden led a cryptoparty in Hawaii in 2012, months before he leaked information about NSA surveillance.) At this event, Karen Reilly, the development director of the Tor Project, led a session, and others presented information on how to encrypt chats and protect mobile devices from surveillance.

Amie Stepanovich, senior policy counsel at Access, says that there there were several questions raised at the meeting about the extent of NSA surveillance and how to defeat NSA spying. Attendees were concerned, she adds, about how NSA activities “impacted each of them and their communications.”

Last week, the House unexpectedly approved a proposal sponsored by Lofgren and other members that would bar the NSA from searching emails, chats, and other communications of Americans without a warrant. The amendment also prohibits the NSA from undermining encryption on the web.

Update: This post has been updated to reflect comment from Access that the office representatives included either staffers or interns.

 

 

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“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

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That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

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