Peter Thiel is a man who enjoys both the having of cake and the putting of that cake into the largest hole in his face.
He's written that "A free press is vital for public debate," yet financed a lawsuit that bankrupted Gawker Media. He's buddy-buddy with "America First" President Donald Trump, but if his friend winds up ruining the United States, Thiel's got citizenship in New Zealand. And now, thanks to a report by The Intercept, it sounds like Thiel has worked to sharpen government surveillance while his company (and he) has claimed a fondness for privacy.
SEE ALSO:New Zealand wants to know how Trump's tech buddy became a secret citizenAccording to the report, Thiel's company Palantir helped the NSA develop a program they call XKeyscore.
The NSA, as The Interceptpoints out, believes it's their most invasive tool. It logs an enormous array of communication and other data transmitted by Internet users, including email, photos, sites you visit, documents you have saved, social networks you visit and what you write there, anything you type, your passwords, anything you upload, whomever you talk to via programs that access your webcams, and more. Also, it's searchable.
For those comforted by a hope that this is all far, far, way too much information for any government official to know where to begin searching, this is where Palantir comes in to mulch that hope.
The company offered a sort of visual mapping for XKeyscore's bottomless pit of information.
The company offered a sort of visual mapping for XKeyscore's bottomless pit of information. It built visuals that allowed anyone looking to graph to see social connections as well as ideological groupings. A group of people all linked via their social accounts might all have a love for Thomas Jefferson, for example, and agents can infer what they will from that.
"Privacy and Civil Liberties" is the first category in the "What We Believe" section of Palantir's website.
"With the right engineering, the technologies that protect against data misuse and abuse can be the same technologies that enable powerful data analysis," the site reads.
It's unclear whether Palantir has yet achieved "the right engineering."
TopicsPrivacySocial MediaDonald Trump
(责任编辑:時尚)
Snapchat is about to explode in popularity, report says
University of Alabama rush week begins on TikTok
Tony Hawk sings with 'Tony Hawk's Pro Skater' cover band in London bar
Netflix's ad tier won't have all of the usual content
How Hyperloop One went off the rails
Amazon's making a big push for its cashierless payment tech at Whole Foods
We tested 3 major virtual makeup try
You can now play 'Solitaire' and 'Tic
Amazon's acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot could give the e
Dramatic photo captures nun texting friends after Italy earthquake
Sims 4 update introduces new sexualities and romantic orientations to players