New Mass Shooting Prevention Bill Will Use 'Anti-Terrorism' Methods To Ramp Up Surveillance Of Students
from the not-quite-the-civics-lesson-schools-had-in-mind dept
The federal government still doesn't have any great ideas on how to head off future school shootings. But it does have some ideas. Some ideas are better than none when calls to "do something" abound. Something is indeed in the works. Unfortunately, the solution being offered just opens up students to increased surveillance, on and off campus.
You already know we're headed to a darker place when the head of the DOJ is touting anti-terrorism tactics as a solution.
As America grapples with the crisis, [Attorney General William] Barr wrote in a letter to federal and local law enforcement officials that it was “critically important ... that we learn from our experiences over the last two decades fighting terrorism and violent crime and that we apply those lessons to hone an efficient, effective and programmatic strategy to disrupt individuals who are mobilizing towards violence, by all lawful means.”
Barr was speaking more broadly of mass shooters, but school shooters are also mass shooters, which means the "individuals" being "disrupted" will sometimes be school students.
Expanded surveillance of school students would be the result of Sen. John Cornyn's RESPONSE Act. (Expanded surveillance of everyone would also be the result of the proposed bill.) There are some helpful aspects to the proposed law, like increasing access to mental health treatment and the hiring of additional mental health professionals to handle the uptick in access.
But the law would also authorize less helpful things, like expedited death penalties and nudging ISPs towards monitoring their customers' internet use.
Encouraging Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to Better Collaborate with Law Enforcement to Prevent Mass Shootings —Clarifies that internet service providers and online platforms have the authority to share information with law enforcement concerning acts of mass violence, hate crimes, or domestic terrorism.
The bill doesn't demand increased monitoring. It just suggests law enforcement will be expected a bit more proactivity from service providers.
The bill also suggests doing more of what hasn't been proven to be useful, like the periodic traumatization of staff and students with active shooter drills.
But it's really about the surveillance. As The Guardian reports, schools are already engaged in plenty of student surveillance. Adding students to the "possible mass shooter" pool would just put existing systems on PEDs.
There is still no research evidence that demonstrates whether or not online monitoring of schoolchildren actually works to prevent violence.
Despite this, new legislation introduced Wednesday by Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and longtime ally of the National Rifle Association (NRA), would update the Children’s Internet Protection Act to mandate that public schools adopt “a technology protection measure that detects online activities of minors who are at risk of committing self-harm or extreme violence against others”.
That mandate isn't going to improve the faulty AI and algorithms already in place. It will increase their use, but it won't make systems prone to false positives any more reliable. Children will become haystacks sifted and sorted by companies like Gaggle. Students will spend more time talking to law enforcement about innocuous posts flagged as suspicious because they contain certain words.
Cornyn's mass shooting plan piggybacks on a vague law that demands schools monitor students online activities. What that covers has never been clearly defined. A do-almost-nothing law that demands increased surveillance will only make existing problems worse. No price is too high to pay for school safety, especially when the price is going to be paid by students.
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Filed Under: gun control, john conryn, school shootings, shootings, students, surveillance, surveillance state, terrorism, william barr
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Crazy bill
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The scale of school-shootings preparedness efforts is way out of proportion to the risk.
Deaths from shootings on school grounds remain extremely rare compared with deaths resulting from accidental injury, which is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers.
Extreme measures for profoundly unlikely events is dumb and dangerous. Plus the Feds are drowning in debt and screw up everything they do.
And local school safety is in no way a proper Federal function or responsibility.
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Gun control not an option then? Thought not.
I'm sure this will go nowhere until the immediate aftermath of yet another tragedy, then it'll resurface in the hope they can use that to push what will be yet another PATRIOT act style mass intrusion law.
I think the backronym could use some work though, I suggest the
National Online Teenager Harassment and Intrusive Note Gathering act. It'll do NOTHING to solve the problems that stem from virtually unregulated access to firearms.
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Of course not. Of all the prices America will pay for school safety, gun control isn’t one of them.
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Re:
It's already illegal to sell a gun to anyone under 18 (21 if you're a licensed gun dealer).
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Ummm NO!... interesting that this is from...a REPUBLICAN.
This really tastes like a way to instigate Anti gov. and Anti Guns..
Into the whole thing.
Get people pissed off while being patted down, for no cause. and point fingers at what??
I think the school shootings are slowing as Someone had the Thought to LOCK THE F'ING DOORS.. As for some reasoning they are shooting up Malls?? it really still sounds wrong..
Walking into a Mall with a few friends, you carrying a Large plastic case, they go on while you stand at a door, pull out a Rifle, and start shooting??
i love their Anti-terrorist tactic-- SHOOT them before they can answer questions.. its not that we are lazy watching for a person/group to run up to a building and BLOW themselves up..
Its not that the teachers are doing anything to counter it??(is it??)
FBI/CIA dont have access to your PRIVATE medical..so no mental eval when looking up License info..
Where are the Mental heath people in this?? What happened to HAVING a source to goto to Talk to as a Teen?? Parents arnt home so where do you go??
Lets talk to the CIA and ask them about the ability to Program younger minds..
How you exposed them to TV that has cops always getting the criminal on every channel..News about no jobs in the future..
Some say the simple mind is easy to control...which might be true, but its the Thinkers, that see all this stuff and make connects, that there isnt a way out.
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…what
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Re:
more government gun control would be just as ineffective as more illegal-drug control.
all levels of American government have been waging a huge, brutal War on Drugs for past half-century -- and illegal drugs are more available now than ever.
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Re: Re:
The proposed anti-gun legislation would only ban legal acquisition of assault weapons for the purpose of banning their illegal uses.
In case you haven't noticed, these people don't care whether or not something is already illegal. Nor do they care about the chances of their plan working. They just want the plan implemented, damn be any actual benefit or the cost of implementation / enforcement.
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"Stone" ... "ECA" has been doing that schtick for over 12 years!
Go look at its history. Exactly the same gibberish with truly random capitalization and.... lots of four period sequences. JUST LOOK at its history, "Stone"! It's astonishing!
When I pointed out that's inhuman and my opinion that it's an early "AI" let run to see if ever improves, was derided on the Sunday funnies!
But now YOU'RE noticing that "ECA" is incomprehensible! Well, well. Most hopeful sign here in months!
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*Disclaimer: I work IT in a public school district.
It won't do much period.
The federal government already has some laws for monitoring kids' technology use in school. Mainly they mandate the monitoring for "objectionable content" with an additional mandate to make a best effort to prevent access to such content by a student. This comes in as part of your Title 1 funds and the USDA. (Yes, the paperclip was abused here.) "Objectionable content" has no legal definition. Which means that if a parent objects to anything their kid accesses they can sue the district.
The technical implementation of this law tends to be some sort of proxy server, normally placed somewhere between the internal network and the WAN. With the server configured to force the use of the proxy, and to log everything tying it back to the student / device that sent the packets. (Usually TLS interception is active as well.) One such device is called a "Lightspeed Rocket".
Guess what? These things tend to only work correctly for Windows machines. Chromebooks are a nightmare to configure as due to how Google's login system works, specifically it's SSO endpoint, you have to whitelist the entirety of google.com and allow it to bypass any and all forms of tracking / authentication. Which makes everything passing through to that domain unreadable regardless of source. So no more tracking searches on the world's biggest and most popular search engine if you want those shiny new Chromebooks to work. Especially if you have a mixed device environment. (I'm more surprised that parents haven't caught on yet and started suing in mass for the lack of supervision...)
Of course, the penalty for being found non-compliant with federal law is loss of funding, and hungry children. So districts have a big reason to be compliant. Of course with budgets cut year after year, cheaper technology maintenance and replacement is also a concern. As is ensuring that the public doesn't view the district as unable to meet the technological education needs of the students. So it's a catch 22. Use something like a Chromebook to avoid expensive tech costs, and break federal law. Or bankrupt the district maintaining hardware that is compliant, while failing to meet the needs of the students. (For now. Microsoft also pulls the same whitelist requirement for Windows Activation and certain Windows Updates. So the ability is in place, and they can expand it's use in the future. To say nothing of Windows 10's long term usability / stability in a school setting....)
Google has known about this law for years, and refuse to do anything to address the problem. I'd suspect they'll be just as receptive to the RESPONSE Act.
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Shut the fuck up until you can answer these two questions: How can a corporation control and enforce a copyright when you believe corporations have no legal rights, and how do you feel about corporations using copyright to censor speech?
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Re: "Stone"
Hey Blue Balls - How can a Corporation hold a copyright if corporations have no rights, ya fucknut?
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Re: Re: the school IT employee
Wow, your district needs IT help. There's no reason that your district has to allow windows computers access to microsoft.com. If your IT group sets up WSUS, then the machines no longer need access to microsoft.com for anything. If you use GPO policies, you can restrict access to store.microsoft.com and prevent users from installing any software. I'd like to help, but the company I work for does't take government contracts any more.
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Re:
"Shut the fuck up until..." Really? Do you solicit the public to come and post here, or not?
I understand him. He never said corporations have no legal rights. He said that corporations are not natural persons.
Why don't you shut the fuck up until you comprehend clear English. He makes perfect sense, always has, clear as a bell, eloquent, well educated and well spoken. You're the nitwit idiot here, again and again, over and over, shit smearing in every direction.
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Re: Re: "Stone"
Imagine this: Election 2020 is over. Republican House, Senate, and POTUS, Donald J. Trump, the Magnificent, leading the charge to make America EVEN GREATER!
Wow, I feel better already.
About Corporations and rights, corporations have rights, and charters, and board meetings, and such. But they don't have the SAME rights as PERSONS.
Clear enough, idiot boy, or do you need a little more schooling?
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Re: Re:
You like thinking about shit, don't you, Squidward?
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Reminder:
<cite>As America grapples with the crisis, [Attorney General William] Barr wrote in a letter to federal and local law enforcement officials that it was “critically important ... that we learn from our experiences over the last two decades fighting terrorism and violent crime and that we apply those lessons to hone an efficient, effective and programmatic strategy to disrupt individuals who are mobilizing towards violence, by all lawful means.”</cite>
Lawful means include impeachment.
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Re:
If gun control worked, Washington DC and Chicago would be the safest cities in this nation... they aren't, because it doesn't. In fact, as gun control has spread school shootings have risen. I'm not claiming a correlation there, but I sure as heck am claiming a lack of one. This country has more guns than citizens. Guns have been freely available for centuries, yet somehow only in the past few decades have school shootings occured. This clearly shows that guns are not the root issue.
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Re:
So you're cool with it. Must not be a parent.
Extreme measures, like what for example? Metal detectors? Can't have those - too extreme that is.
Unlikely events ... that seem to happen on a regular basis, really now.
Federal debt is not something politicians seem to care much about unless they can turn it into a campaign issue.
What are the federal functions anyway ... are they written down somewhere? Or are they in your head?
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Re:
Who you callin' crazy?
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Re: Reminder:
No one is above the law.
Let me introduce myself, my name is no one.
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Re: Re: Re:
Assault weapons already have a very high bar to acquisition. They're not banned but it's not at all easy to acquire one.
The AR-15 and others like it are not, however, assault weapons. They may resemble assault weapons but they fire only one shot per trigger pull and those shots are lower caliber and less powerful than many rifles you'd call hunting rifles.
Get rid of bump stocks and "gatling triggers", sure. Those serve no real purpose other than to convert any semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic rifle with terrible accuracy. The only reason those exist is to spray more lead downrange faster, i.e. "spray and pray".
If the anti-gun community would study up a bit and actually understand what these things are and how they work they could construct much more useful legislation that the pro-gun community would likely even go along with. The current approach to try to outright ban things that aren't at all what the anti-gunners claim them to be and that won't make any material difference at all is never going to succeed.
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Kind of reminds me of Spaceballs, politicians' frantic need to be seen to be doing something even if they don't have a clue if it'll work or even what the issue is:
President Skroob (to Dark Helmet): Do something!
Dark Helmet (to Col. Sandurz): Do something!
Col. Sandurz (to crew): Do something!
I'm sure there are suitable persons within the circus that is the Trump adminstration (including Trump himself) who could easily take on the roles of Skroob, Helmet, and Sandurz in the above scenario.
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Re:
That's a good one. Or maybe the Governor from Blazing Saddles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt3GBlVjUd0
"Give the Governor a harrumph!"
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
"could construct much more useful legislation"
I guess background checks are not useful? I have not seen the numbers used or the analysis thereof but when the checks are not enforced then the numbers are sort of meaningless.
Outright ban? ... damn, I guess that bazooka is out of the question. What you say? I can actually purchase a bazooka?????
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
Trying to ban componemts lile suppressors and normal-capacity magazines only serves to underscore that their "common sense" tagline is always and ever a black lie.
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And parents will decide to use vpn to protect family privacy
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Re:
ok 6th grade logic..
Force things to happen. by pointing fingers and blaming..
While that is happening, pass regulations to get every person patted down while going to a public place..
You now have younger persons getting used to the idea, while Adults bitch and complain.. But things keep happening, and they keep pointing that THIS is the only way to deal with it..
No mental health no Help for anyone with problems..
it was interesting that They kept hitting schools.. but boring, NOW we have them hitting malls, and other public locations.
1 person went with friends to the mall, and the friends left him behind to do something..HE got a rifle out and started shooting..
The last 2 generations have not been home to Teach the children anything, we are leaving it to others.. While parents goto work to make ends meet. who do you want teaching your kids WHAt they need, emotionally..
Is that low enough grade to understand..or you want lower?
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Re: Re:
Tuition is so out of control. They don't pay teachers or professors enough. Who is making all the money? Metal detectors won't stop outdoor shooters, but it shows some responsibility toward this nation's students.
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Re:
If you run for office, I'll vote for you just because you're real!
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Re: Re:
Hey hamilton. Melenia would have you hung by the neck rather than look at you.
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Re: Hamilton’s impotent ranting
Shiva still lost bro.
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No, they show an unfounded level of paranoia, and a desire to treat students as sheep to be managed and controlled.
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
Being paranoid that someone might have too easy of access to shoot our nation's students isn't a bad thing. Hell, they have metal detectors at all the DMVs protecting those people who charge you through the nose for everything related to driving on the road, why not protect America's future by protecting our youngest and brightest?
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
I carry a bulletproof clipboard in my backpack. Call me paranoid? I don't think so. I'm just being reasonably cautious. It might not stop all the bullets from some asshole who doesn't have a life and no hope for the future and is too much of a pussy to have a girlfriend he has to take that out on all the guys that do and shoot all the girls because he couldn't get the balls to ask one out and his mother wouldn't nurse him and his dad called him a fag to his face and he has this rusty handgun that will really give us an education and...
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Re:
Thanks for spelling that out for us, NOTHING!
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Re: Re:
Im still wondering why they haven't installed seatbelts in the school transport buses for children if they are that concerned with their brains accessing objectionable content but won't protect their actual brains from accidents in school buses. It makes them look extremely foolish.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Enact a flat 10% tax on corporations for infrastructure. Call it 10% Corporate Flat Infrastructure Tax or cofit up tax!
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Another tax they will not pay?
Brilliant!
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Because metal detectors only work with limited in flow at a time. It works for prisons and court housed but not schools and airports.
Given high traffic it just makes a shooting gallery for anyone who pulls a gun on the inevitable chokepoints. How important something has nothing to do with if a solution works! Repeat after me - nothing is too important to be rational about.
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Re: Re: Re:
Fucked up liability laws - if children are hurt due to not being strapped in they were negligent. If they trust cushioned seats as a poor substitute they aren't liable even if it leads to way more kids being hurt or killed.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
"but not schools and airports"
. There have never been any metal detectors used in airports? What country are you talking about here?
"if a solution works"
. The present solution is to not have one. Their silly attempts at a solution are beyond laughable.
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Re: Re: Reminder:
!! You invoked a slight chuckle from me no one!
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Re: Re: Re:
Uh, yes, there is. He even stated why:
So if you want to use Windows at all, you have to whitelist microsoft.com to activate it or have a brick in 30 days. Yes, you can use KMS but not everyone does.
Also, there ARE certain updates that are not available via WSUS (ran into this where I work) and many Office 365 applications and services are tied explicitly to microsoft.com. As such it's pretty much impossible to block microsoft.com and expect Windows and/or Office to work properly.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Note, he was saying they aren't effective in those locations. Not that they never had them there.
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Re:
As you should have been and still deserve to be.
You are incomprehensible half the time as well. Should we consider you an AI as well?
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Re: Re:
No, no he does not as he constantly gets history wrong. And not just in a "interpretation" way, he has literally said things happened that didn't, and things didn't happen that did.
Counter-evidence:
Not only are there massive misunderstandings about the state of AI in this sentence, he also massively butchers English grammar.
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Re: Re: Re:
NO human being should ever be referred to in that way in any kind of serious manner. That title is more befitting stage magicians, dictators, despots, and tyrants. Which, in a way I suppose, he is.
Ah I see, so the First Amendment doesn't apply to religious corporations (such as churches) and the government dictates to them what religious tenants they will follow and/or support? Come on man, all we have to do is find ONE right that is shared by both corporations and individuals and your argument flies apart at the seams.
Considering I just schooled you, I think you should apologize to Gary. But I know that will never happen.
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Re: "Stone" ... "ECA" has been doing that schtick for over 12 ye
An AI probably wouldn’t have random capitalization, and lots of real people who either are uneducated or have certain disabilities write like this. Trust me; humans are often far less comprehensible than AI. I personally know several.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
most likely the lobbiest paid to write this 'law' would end up creating a 10% tax on corporations, with an available 200% tax credit (meaning the corporations would actually get back 2x the tax they paid, if they claimed the credit).
Nobody would talk about the credit, but everyone would complain about the tax...
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
There is no cushion on the back of those seats which is where all the head injuries occur from a front on crash. If I were King for a Day...
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Re: Ummm NO!... interesting that this is from...a REPUBLICAN.
You're tired ECA.. take a powernap!
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Re:
That movie was inspired by the Trump Whitehouse in a dream!
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Re: Re:
Well? Balls, just as long as I make myself laugh!
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Nothing to hide, nothing to fear.
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Re:
Go live in another country then. In America it is a right under the Constitution that people have certain basic rights to privacy that will not be violated.
But I am curious, since you have nothing to hide, what are your thoughts on living in a glass house where there are no opaque or even translucent barriers (yes, even in the bathroom/shower) and video and audio recording devices see and hear everything you do, 24/7 and put it all up on Youtube? Nothing to hide, nothing to fear right?
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Re: Re: Re: "Stone"
Wasn’t that what happened in 2016? How did that turn out again?
Oh right. The Republicans could still get barely anything done because they couldn’t agree on anything and get Trump to sign. The only real exceptions being tax cuts for the rich, FOSTA, and some minor pieces of legislation here and there.
Aside from the right to vote (and ignoring the fact that corporations are legally persons), what rights do people have that corporations lack entirely? Last I checked, they still had free speech, freedom of the press, right to assemble, right to petition the government, freedom of religion, right to bear arms, privacy protections, right to sue, right to an attorney, free association, right to a quick and speedy trial, right to due process, and more. There may be slightly different limits on those rights or some that don’t make sense to apply to a corporation (e.g., freedom from excessive bail, since you can’t put a corporation in jail), but they still have those rights.
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Re:
I have plenty to hide, but not because any of it is illegal or even makes me look bad. I just enjoy keeping some things private, so unless you have a very good reason to see it, I’m going to keep hiding it.
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Re:
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