Obama War vs Apple, Google; Journalists Investigated for Treason; Plan for Tech Companies Report Terrorism

Obama Administration War Against Apple and Google Just Got Uglier. The Obama administration’s central strategy against strong encryption seems to be waging war on the companies that are providing and popularizing it: most notably Apple and Google. The intimidation campaign got a boost Thursday when a blog that frequently promotes the interests of the national security establishment raised the prospect of Apple being found liable for providing material support to a terrorist.

German Journalists Investigated for Treason after Publishing Surveillance Leaks. “This is a direct attack on freedom of the press, such as hasn’t been the case in around 50 years in Germany, since the ‘Spiegel scandal’ in 1962,’” Meister told The Intercept, citing an incident in which the German newsweekly Der Spiegel was searched and some of its journalists were arrested on treason accusations stemming from an article questioning the preparedness of West German armed forces.

Wyden Blasts Plan to Have Tech Companies Report “Terrorist Activity” — Whatever That Is. A provision introduced into the 2016 Intelligence Authorization Bill by California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein would require Internet and tech companies to report every instance of “terrorist activity” — without defining what that “terrorist activity” is.