John Oliver Takes On Government Surveillance With Help From Ed Snowden And... Some Dick Pics

from the put-it-in-terms-of-your-junk dept

Mon, Apr 6th 2015 10:31am — Mike Masnick

Once again, it seems that John Oliver is doing a show on topics that we regularly talk about in these parts. And he's pretty damn good at it. Last night's episode was all about government surveillance, focused mainly on Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act and the fact that it's set to sunset on June 1st if Congress doesn't renew it (and, of course, there's been no debate at all on it, meaning that late in May you'll see a frantic, crazed and fact-free "debate" in which fearmongers will insist that we're all going to die if it's not extended). Oliver actually flew to Moscow and interviewed Ed Snowden as part of the episode: Believe it or not, Oliver actually challenged Snowden a lot more than most of Snowden's interviews, which is pretty interesting (but perhaps not that surprising -- given that Oliver also gave former NSA boss Keith Alexander his most challenging interview in Oliver's very first episode). Oliver challenged Snowden on whether or not journalists could do a good enough job keeping some of the information in the documents secret (pointing to one particular fuck up in which there was a bad redaction). He also questioned how carefully Snowden reviewed all of the info before handing it over.

But, much more of the interview (and the rest of the show) actually focused on getting the public to actually care about what was going on. Oliver used the late night talk show TV trope of asking people on the street what they knew about Ed Snowden and what he revealed (the answer: basically nothing), and then flipped it around to ask them how they would feel if photos they or their loved ones took of their penises should be collected by the NSA. Then, suddenly, they were worried about the government's surveillance capabilities. That leads to Oliver coaxing Snowden into explaining the power of government surveillance -- including Section 215, Executive Order 12333, the PRISM program and even (barely) the upstream collection program under Section 702 of the FISA Act (not named in the show, though the others are) -- about how it allows the government to collect "dick picks" (which Snowden will only call "photos of your junk.")

It's an amusing segment, but I'm not convinced it's as powerful as it could have been (or as Oliver has been on other topics), in which he has been able to get people really motivated to be angry and speak out about certain injustices. And that's too bad, because this is a huge issue. I recognize it's a lot to ask of a primarily comedy show, but Oliver has been so successful at getting people worked up on issues like net neutrality, that it's almost a disappointment that he's not able to create the same level of outrage over government surveillance. In fact, most of the news coverage of Oliver's interview seems to be about the mundane aspects of his interview with Snowden, such as whether or not he misses "hot pockets."

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Filed Under: ed snowden, government surveillance, john oliver, nsa, patriot act, section 215, surveillance

27 Comments

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limbodog (profile), 6 Apr 2015 @ 10:44am

Those weren't all softballs
Good on Oliver for asking real questions as well as questions about hot pockets.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 10:51am

Can't play video in UK.
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bureau13 (profile), 6 Apr 2015 @ 11:27am

I wouldn't blame Oliver on the lack of outrage. He used a clever and creative approach to try and get people to care about something that maybe, they just don't. I thought it was a brilliant take, and I'm glad he tackled it.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 11:31am

Were there any more serious fuck-ups?
I don't see how terrorists finding out they're under surveillance can cause that much harm. Are there terrorists who don't think the USG is listening?
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 11:35am

Re:
Perhaps people would be more outraged if he'd framed in the context of the NSA collecting celebrity nudie pics instead of their own.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 11:38am

Re:
Have you sent a dick pic to someone in the US recently?
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 11:44am

Dick pics
We can do this the easy way (passive surveillance of the internet backbone) or the hard way.
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Jim, 6 Apr 2015 @ 11:48am

Lost Opportunity
It's a shame that Oliver was a little mealy-mouthed on this topic, missing a golden opportunity to really engage viewers on this topic (which is only going to become more crucial as the years pass).
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 11:51am

Re: Dick pics
that was a risky click....
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Bobbins (profile), 6 Apr 2015 @ 1:05pm

Re: Can't play in the UK.
http://dailypicksandflicks.com/2015/04/06/john-oliver-interviews-edward-snowden-on-government-survei llance-and-nsa-video/

Theres a Vidme link below the Youtube link. A bit of a dick move that all LastWeekTonight Youtube videos can be viewed in the UK apart from this one.
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Spaceman Spiff (profile), 6 Apr 2015 @ 2:01pm

Actually, I disagree Mike about whether it was as powerful as it could have been
It was informative, and the entire end segment about "dick pics" really illustrated just how much these programs "suck up"... I give Oliver, and Snowden, a two thumbs up for this.
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Pronounce (profile), 6 Apr 2015 @ 2:05pm

This Should Be Included In the Discussion
So....Anyone else but me concerned that an agency who is funded by congress has dirt on legislators?
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 2:32pm

Re: Re: Can't play in the UK.
Thanks, the vidme link worked.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 2:55pm

Chicken Little was right, the sky is falling? Take your military industrial complex that runs on the backs of American workers, and the blood of our sons and daughters, and stick it where the sun doesn't shine. Don't you sweat the small stuff Mr. Snowden, we have got you covered. If the U.S. government doesn't respect our privacy why should we respect theirs? Lead by example or get the hell out of the way.
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Uriel-238 (profile), 6 Apr 2015 @ 3:18pm

Encrypt Your Dick!
It even has assonance.
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Uriel-238 (profile), 6 Apr 2015 @ 3:24pm

Re: This Should Be Included In the Discussion
Um, yes.

Not a new problem. This was a device in the toobox by which J. Edgar Hoover was able to become a political powerhouse. Also the CIA gets their black-box projects approved by way of biographical leverage.

It's less of a concern than the corporate bonus packages that keep our legislators pushing through company-friendly agendas. I suspect they invoke biographical leverage too.

No, the US Government is an endless fellatio chain that doesn't care about us commoners anymore. It doesn't really matter what the devices are that keep the toe-line straight.
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alternatives(), 6 Apr 2015 @ 4:27pm

nice how Snowden got on board
with the how save is the dick shtick
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Oliverfriend, 6 Apr 2015 @ 5:42pm

Great success to Oliver......for packaging a burning topic in comedy, lipstick, sex, romance da da da. Very few persons of his ilk are doing this kind of service. I sincerely hope he continues to do what he is doing, i.e do not forget once he gets to headlines of public notice. I wish him all success and god speed!
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2015 @ 10:42pm

It's depressing how many people said Ed leaked information to Wikileaks. Where do they get their information from? Are they getting it from prime time propaganda news programs on TV?

Oliver appears to be right about one thing. The repercussions of mass surveillance is currently beyond most people's comprehension. Unless mass surveillance is phrased as 'dick pics'. In which case people can immediate comprehend and relate to it.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2015 @ 12:47am

Re: Actually, I disagree Mike about whether it was as powerful as it could have been
I agree. If anything the American public has shown it's pretty much immune to moral outrage, justified or not. This had to be packaged differently.

I'm still doubtful it will engage an apathetic, uneducated, and worn-out public, though.
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Anonymous Coward, 7 Apr 2015 @ 4:49am

I found it quite interesting that John Oliver can now consider himself to be on several watchlists.

Like Mr. Snowden said "If you weren't before, you will be now"
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The Infamous Joe (profile), 7 Apr 2015 @ 8:54am

For future reference
http://cantheyseemydick.com/
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fairuse (profile), 7 Apr 2015 @ 11:11pm

Describe complex issues in terms familiar to folks
People don't care how phones, internet, and any device in their house does what it does; Smart-devices.
Item Phone: was a thing wired to the wall -- now it is a computer.
Item Internet: It's a way to do things regardless of how foolish a thing can be -- count the number of penis flashing on social apps. Chatroulette being what it is.
Item TV, computer, tablet are used by folks to do pretty much everything.

Case of streaming video: There is a huge gap between what marketing tells a person and fact that the average person watching video has no clue about how pretty moving pictures got there. Experts lecture, people twitter that video sucks.

Case of trying to reach an audience that cannot fit the "Big NSA watching them" into their reality: Enter Mr. Oliver. His job of predigesting the law and painting a familiar picture for normal folks. Picture of penis vs bits of data.

Maybe I see too much crazy stuff online but most people treat pictures, video and in-the-clear e-mail rants as just life -- one big High School/College Frat party.

I think John Oliver did a good job getting the word out to a large number of people who zoneout once the tech speak starts.

Maybe folks should watch CBS Person of Interest and get a hint of the real scary stuff; AI with no human controls. Save that for 2080 generation.
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fairuse (profile), 7 Apr 2015 @ 11:19pm

Re: This Should Be Included In the Discussion
The ancient problem of the ruler having to play a game of blackmail by his spy, the a sword over said ruler's head, or getting the enemy. Washington DC is a cesspool of backstabbing. Only power matters and that is the ruler's sword over his spy's head.
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Sheogorath (profile), 8 Apr 2015 @ 5:34pm

Re:
VPN or proxy.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Apr 2015 @ 10:55am

This is sad.
I really wish I could say it surprises me that people only care about dick pics and not the other ways this system could be used, but it doesn't.
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Uriel-238 (profile), 9 Apr 2015 @ 11:17am

It's a harsh lesson for our constitutional framers, too.
We build a civilization (to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld) with the people we have, not the people we wish we had.

And yeah, they were expected to stay informed about their own best interests, and vote based on them, not based on horserace leaders or predetermined identity.

The common American worries about their own dick-pics and whether or not Obama may be a Kenyan terrorist. That's the mean.
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