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Are Cell Phone Calls Being Recorded by the FBI?

  • Gblock
    http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2013/05/02/nr-sot-katherine-russell-phone-call-tsarnaev.cnn


    says that if the bombers wife doesnt tell of her conversation with her husband after the bombing, that the FBI can get a hold of what was said during that phone call. He goes further to say no communication is secure and all communication is monitored and can be recalled.

    seems like there would be no way to keep that amount of data but it sounds like that is what he is inferring
  • gut
    I don't know, the term I heard was "reconstructed". Whatever that means. I guess just like nothing is ever deleted from the internet, they can find and piece the digital ino back together.
  • dlazz
    That amount of data would be a lot, but not out of the realm of possibility.

    Audio compression has come a long way, especially with really low quality audio like that of a cell phone conversation.

    I thought I read somewhere that the cell phone providers record and keep for a certain amount of time. Probably reddit, so not super reliable.
  • SaltsmanCody
    he selling wolf tickets
  • FatHobbit
    Interesting. He's not just talking cell phones calls. He's talking all digital communication. WTF
  • Mulva
    I think he's full of shit.
  • raiderbuck
    Why not? I could record my conversations with my old cheapo LG phone.
  • SaltsmanCody
    i wouldn't put it past our horrible government to monitor our phone conversations without our consent
  • Pick6
    Pretty sure I have read somewhere before that all digital communication is/is capable of being tracked.
  • queencitybuckeye
    Pick6;1440483 wrote:Pretty sure I have read somewhere before that all digital communication is/is capable of being tracked.
    Any? Almost.

    All? Not even the U.S. government has that kind of bandwidth.
  • Mulva
    Wiretapping is basically outsourced to the private sector. Telecom companies got caught illegally wiretapping millions of people for the NSA, but I don't see any way companies have the kind of infrastructure in place to monitor all people all the time in every communication method.
  • SaltsmanCody
    they government needs our consent!


    consent is a huge thing in this country
  • Manhattan Buckeye
    I think the short answer is to to Gblock's point that no, they can't monitor every single call - just too much white noise. What they may be able to do is subpoena records, usage and put a person in a location at the time.
  • FatHobbit
    Manhattan Buckeye;1441330 wrote:What they may be able to do is subpoena records, usage and put a person in a location at the time.
    I think they've already done that. Now they want to know what she said and they are claiming if she doesn't tell them they can find out.
  • Cleveland Buck
    SaltsmanCody;1441311 wrote:they government needs our consent!


    consent is a huge thing in this country
    I don't know why I can't rep you, nor did I know we can have negative rep here, but you are right. Problem is, no one cares. To answer the OP, of course they record everything you say and do. Not just the FBI either.
    The IRS’s next phase in high-tech tax collection will be to create a “real-time” check of tax returns to “match them to third party information,” said U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George in testimony before Congress. Starting this year, the IRS tools will be able to track all credit card transactions, for starters. The agency has also instructed agents on using online sources such as social media and e-commerce sites including eBay, as well as the rich data generated by mobile devices. In one controversial disclosure in April, the ACLU showed documents in which the IRS general counsel said the agency could look at emails without warrants, but the IRS has said it will not use this power.

    While the agency has declined to give details about what third-party personal data it will use in robo-audits and data mining, it has told government and industry groups that its computers are capable of scanning multiple networks at the same time to collect “matching” comprehensive profiles for every taxpayer in America. Such profiles will likely include shopping records, travel, social interactions and information not available to the public, such as health records and files from other government investigators, according to IRS documents.

    The IRS did not respond to written requests for information on its program.
    http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/mutual-funds/articles/2013/05/01/irs-data-web-snares-mostly-low--and-middle-income-taxpayers
  • queencitybuckeye
    Cleveland Buck;1441339 wrote:I don't know why I can't rep you, nor did I know we can have negative rep here, but you are right. Problem is, no one cares. To answer the OP, of course they record everything you say and do. Not just the FBI either.
    Big difference between a healthy distrust of government and raging paranoia. This one falls firmly in the latter.
  • Heretic
    Cleveland Buck;1441339 wrote:I don't know why I can't rep you, nor did I know we can have negative rep here
    His constant "turn every thread he posts in into Steuby rape stuff" got tiresome, so he's in the basement. Which is why you can't rep him.
  • tk421
    Every single electronic communication is analyzed and run through government computers searching for certain code words and phrases. Every single one. What exactly do you all think the NSA and other spy agencies do with their time? What is that site being build in Utah going to be used for? Don't be naive, the government has access to anything and everything they want. It isn't all looked at by human eyes, but computers analyze everything.

    The government has special internet switches that filter all internet traffic in this country through their computers, everything you do online is analyzed. The constitution doesn't mean jack squat to the government, who is going to do anything about their spying on Americans? Yeah, nobody.
  • said_aouita
    tk421;1441378 wrote:Every single electronic communication is analyzed and run through government computers searching for certain code words and phrases. Every single one. What exactly do you all think the NSA and other spy agencies do with their time? What is that site being build in Utah going to be used for? Don't be naive, the government has access to anything and everything they want. It isn't all looked at by human eyes, but computers analyze everything.

    The government has special internet switches that filter all internet traffic in this country through their computers, everything you do online is analyzed. The constitution doesn't mean jack squat to the government, who is going to do anything about their spying on Americans? Yeah, nobody.
    Thank goodness our Socialist POTUS doesn't do a massive sweep of certain drug words sent over cell phones.
    Back in the day dealers had pagers. Now they all use cell phones.
  • Glory Days
    tk421;1441378 wrote:Every single electronic communication is analyzed and run through government computers searching for certain code words and phrases. Every single one. What exactly do you all think the NSA and other spy agencies do with their time? What is that site being build in Utah going to be used for? Don't be naive, the government has access to anything and everything they want. It isn't all looked at by human eyes, but computers analyze everything.

    The government has special internet switches that filter all internet traffic in this country through their computers, everything you do online is analyzed. The constitution doesn't mean jack squat to the government, who is going to do anything about their spying on Americans? Yeah, nobody.
    apparentely they need better computers then for all the crime that takes place.
  • Tiernan
    Occasionally when you are taliking to a buddy just go, "Shhh! did you hear that?" (pause) and then say "I think this phone is tapped, I gotta go man." Just to fuck with the FBI.
  • gut
    Cleveland Buck;1441339 wrote:...To answer the OP, of course they record everything you say and do. Not just the FBI either.
    http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/mutual-funds/articles/2013/05/01/irs-data-web-snares-mostly-low--and-middle-income-taxpayers
    The IRS conducting robo audits is far more insidious than attempts to balance security and privacy.

    I'm also highly skeptical of the claim of "$400B in tax cheating". For the low and middle income taxpayers, I can see a fair number trying to evade a few hundred, maybe even $1k in tax liability but that's a drop in the bucket. The "big fish" are mostly taking advantage of legal shelters, deductions and loopholes. And these are people typically flagged, or at much higher risk to be flagged, for audit. And then you're often dealing with the courts in determining legality of a particular loophole or tax shelter.

    But it's insidious because what assurances do we have of a chinese wall preventing the sharing of information? My suspicion is the $400B comes mostly from black market and illegal activity (so maybe not that unrealistic of a number), and people that grossly under report tip income. I could see them comparing W2's from a restaurant to flag someone with suspiciously low reported tip income.
  • Rotinaj
    tk421;1441378 wrote:Every single electronic communication is analyzed and run through government computers searching for certain code words and phrases. Every single one. What exactly do you all think the NSA and other spy agencies do with their time? What is that site being build in Utah going to be used for? Don't be naive, the government has access to anything and everything they want. It isn't all looked at by human eyes, but computers analyze everything.

    The government has special internet switches that filter all internet traffic in this country through their computers, everything you do online is analyzed. The constitution doesn't mean jack squat to the government, who is going to do anything about their spying on Americans? Yeah, nobody.
    lol. Sounds legit. So how exactly is this done? And is it only the electronic communication of our country? Why not the whole world? Sounds like it would be pretty easy right? Tell me more!!!!
  • WebFire
    tk421;1441378 wrote:Every single electronic communication is analyzed and run through government computers searching for certain code words and phrases. Every single one. What exactly do you all think the NSA and other spy agencies do with their time? What is that site being build in Utah going to be used for? Don't be naive, the government has access to anything and everything they want. It isn't all looked at by human eyes, but computers analyze everything.

    The government has special internet switches that filter all internet traffic in this country through their computers, everything you do online is analyzed. The constitution doesn't mean jack squat to the government, who is going to do anything about their spying on Americans? Yeah, nobody.
    Link?
  • Mulva
    WebFire;1441635 wrote:Link?
    The Utah part is correct.

    http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/03/ff_nsadatacenter/