It’s April Fool’s today and by now, perhaps you have witnessed your share of pranks, fake stories, and hoaxes. I can think of a number of funny April Fool’s stories over the years, but new ones seem to be fading. At one time, hoaxes that were foisted upon the people seemed to have a greater effect than they do today. Perhaps it is an artifact of our society of rapid information and the full time presence of the internet, perhaps we have become accustomed to corporate press releases, and in many ways, we have become jaded to things that seem improbable. Seek your answer and Google the truth. It only takes seconds.

No laughing matter

One thing that must not be lost on the American public is the threat of ongoing surveillance methods that is a reality in our lives. None of these threats are a laughing matter, yet many of us have carried on as though the NSA dragnet of information never happened. It does not matter if the United States Senate declared surveillance to be illegal or not, because it was never declared to exist in the first place. The NSA, the CIA, and the rest of these agencies are going to do whatever they feel they must and in some cases, whatever the feel they can get away with. They are also carrying on as though nothing ever happened, and that is a problem.

iPhone crack – the golden key

The iPhone cracking case has raised plenty of concerns, and it is a difficult case in which to pick a pure position on either side. Information about terror can help save lives and it is highly sought by enforcement agencies, there is little doubt about that fact. Last week, we were faced with the news that the FBI figured out how to crack that phone (as I had publicly predicted for weeks).

It is rather shocking that just days after the FBI had announced they were letting Apple of the hook because of the break in the device’s security, the same agency has now offered its help in unlocking an iPhone in an Arkansas murder case. Essentially, the FBI now has a golden key that can open one of the most popular phones on the market, meaning the actual data of millions could be intercepted. On top of all that, Apple and the security community may never get access to any of the details of how the phone was cracked.

Carry on, nothing to see

Less than a year ago, a federal appeals court ruled that the NSA phone collection program was deemed to be in accordance with section 215 of the Patriot Act. Critics have been quick to point out that this section never summoned any type of phone surveillance plan in the first place. Later, the phone metadata program was to be halted, but was anybody really believing that? Sure enough, the program continues.

The facts here show that the NSA never acted legally and despite the constant tug-of-war, there is little doubt that the agency continues working outside of the rules to satisfy its ends. This is a perilous position of the will of the government versus the rights of the people. Although Apple is a very large company, we are looking at a very similar standoff between a company and the endless resources, unyielding power, and will of the government. Caught in the crossfire of this power is individual sovereignty that is posed to millions of members of the public.

The government has made a continual habit of claiming all-powerful authority in our digital lives without permission or our knowledge. They know the answer to these programs, if posed to us, would be no. Sadly, years have now passed since the discovery that our Constitutional rights have been endlessly violated, and there is nary a whisper regarding the illegality behind it all nor penalizing either an agency or individuals for making this choice for us.

I like a good gag every now and then, but what I’m about to share is serious. Today, April 1st, my message to the people will be front and center once again on the Fox Business Network’s Stossel Show at 9:00pm E.T. in the first part of a televised Libertarian Presidential debate.

Img credit: Yahya