Facebook wants right to challenge search warrants for user data

Should the social network be able to contest a search warrant on behalf of its users? That issue is now being debated in court.

Facebook is arguing in a New York court that it should be able to push back against search warrants, to protect the rights of its users.

Facebook is trying to convince a panel of judges that it should have the right to challenge search warrants that let law enforcement sweep up private user data, even of people not charged with a crime.

On Thursday, a group of five judges on the New York State appeals court started hearing arguments between Facebook and the Manhattan district attorney's office over a legal issue involving bulk search warrants. The case stems from warrants issued to the social network in 2013 that forced it to disclose the complete Facebook accounts of around 300 people not charged with an actual crime, The New York Times reported Friday.

Facebook was required to share private information of 381 different people in a case where prosecutors were trying to get indictments against police officers and other public employees for disability fraud, the Times said. But 302 of the people whose accounts were exposed were never charged with fraud.

The case involves the ongoing question of if and how someone's online but private information should be protected, and a ruling could affect not just Facebook but other social-media companies as well. Google, Twitter and LinkedIn have all filed briefs in support of Facebook's position, the Times reported.

The FBI has argued that it doesn't even need a search warrant to access a person's Facebook chats, emails and other private data. That goes against a 2010 ruling by an appeals court that law enforcement officials must secure warrants in order to obtain such information.

But in the case being considered by the panel of judges, known as "In Re 381 Search Warrants Directed to Facebook Inc.," the social network has contended that even the search warrants themselves were too wide in scope and because of that the company should have had the right to reject them.

Though the judges also seem to be bothered by the wide scope of the warrants, they've so far fallen back on the fact that state law prevents people from appealing search warrants. The Manhattan district attorney's office has emphasized that point, saying Facebook has no more right to reject a search warrant than the operator of a brick-and-mortar storage company does, the Times reported.

Facebook's attorney has countered that argument, saying the company had to take an active role in searching for the information and handing it over to the prosecutors. That makes these warrants "different from a typical search warrant where you stand aside and let the police come in with a box," attorney Thomas Dupree said in Facebook's court brief.

One of the judges asked if government requests for user information could be thought of as a subpoena or a mixture of a warrant and a subpoena. Such an approach would give Facebook the right to challenge them. And in a case that clearly is a difficult one for the court, that approach could provide the legal justification Facebook would need to back up its position.

When asked to comment, Facebook pointed to its legal brief, which includes the following statement about its position:

This case, of course, concerns Facebook--an online social networking service with more than one billion users. Many of these users treat Facebook as a digital home where they share personal and private information. They use Facebook to share photographs, videos, and communications of a personal nature, and they control the audience with whom they share this information. The Government's bulk warrants, which demand "all" communications and information in 24 broad categories from the 381 targeted accounts, are the digital equivalent of seizing everything in someone's home. Except here, it is not a single home but an entire neighborhood of nearly 400 homes. The vast scope of the Government's search and seizure here would be unthinkable in the physical world.

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Move over, Project Ara: the Puzzlephone wants to make modular smartphones even simpler

With Project Ara and Finnish startup Vsenn promising to bring modular smartphones to the world sometime next year, it’s only fitting that another Finnish entrant, Circular Devices, enters the ring with a modular smartphone of its own. Dubbed the Puzzlephone, the handset provides an alternative concept to Project Ara and Vsenn by emphasizing simplicity and approachable pricing.

The Puzzlephone is broken down into three main components: the Spine, the Heart, and the Brain. The Spine is comprised of the LCD and speakers, while providing the basic structure of the phone. The Heart, meanwhile, is where you’ll find the battery and secondary electronics. Finally, the Brain contains the processor and camera modules.

Related: This startup wants to take on Project Ara with its own modular smartphone

The project has been in development since 2013, though Circular Devices as a company was formally founded in September 2014 and is based in Espoo, Finland, where Nokia is headquartered. According to Puzzlephone’s website, the company is now at a point where it can produce working prototypes, though mass availability won’t happen until the second half of 2015. Even so, Circular Devices looks to undercut its competitors by selling the Puzzlephone at a mid-range price, so long as the funding and support is there. The pricing could undercut Vsenn, which plans to sell its modular handset for under 590 euros in Europe.

Circular Devices is intent on setting open source standards with the Puzzlephone, even though the company will utilize a forked version of Android for the first go-round. This runs contrary to Project Ara, which will surely use a stock version of Android with a few changes here and there. At their cores, however, the philosophy driving the Puzzlephone and Project Ara, as well as Vsenn’s modular smartphone, remains the same: the drive to lower electronic waste.

As things stand now, if the camera on your phone is damaged for some reason, there is no way to fix it, even though the LCD screen and processor may still work fine. That’s just one example. These modular smartphone companies hope to change this by building phones where you can swap out components you want to replace without throwing the whole thing away. Whether the Puzzlephone will be successful is another matter, but with Project Ara, Vsenn, and now Circular Devices all entering the modular smartphone space, things will get interesting in the years to come.

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Uncharted 3 wants you to love its multiplayer modes

Trailer: Sony and Naughty Dog have outlined some of the many multiplayer additions they will be offering for Uncharted 3. A closed beta will begin on June 28, while the open beta starts July 5.

If you played Uncharted 2 and didn’t enjoy yourself at least a bit, then you may legitimately be dead inside. You should look into that. But for as good as the single-player was, the multiplayer never really caught on in the same way–granted, that is a fairly high bar that the single-player set. It was fun and original and still maintains a dedicated following online, but when people talk about how amazing Uncharted 2 was, they are usually referring to the single-player experience. Maybe that is unfair to what was a great multiplayer package, but the multiplayer didn’t get people to buy PS3 systems; the campaign did.

With Uncharted 3, developer Naughty Dog hopes to strike a balance that will have people throwing awards like ninja stars at the single-player, while offering a multiplayer that stands on its own as one of the year’s best.

Naughty Dog recently highlighted its multiplayer offering for the upcoming game, and it is an understatement to say that the system has been overhauled. The things that worked in the multiplayer of Uncharted 2 will all return, but the additions will make the sequel’s multiplayer feel like far more than just an update. We’re getting an entirely new experience built on the foundation of the previous game, which could make for a fairly fantastic offering.

The two maps shown were “The Airstrip” and “The Chateau.” “The Chateau” is a fairly traditional looking map with multiple levels spread out over a fairly sizeable area, complete with ziplines for quick transit. “The Airstrip” is a bit more unusual in that it is actually two maps in one. The games taking place in “The Airstrip” begin with a cargo plane being chased by trucks. You jump between the trucks and the cargo plane, then once the plane has taken flight, you switch to a massive hangar that plays in a more familiar way—minus the occasional strafing runs from passing fighter planes.

Naughty Dog also showed off two new competitive modes: free-for-all and “Three Team Deathmatch”, which pits three squads of two players each against each other in a mode similar to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’s “Alliance” multiplayer mode. Expect many more modes to be announced in the coming months, including a return of most—if not all—of the modes from Uncharted 2.

The game also emphasizes the buddy system, which Naughty Dog hopes will encourage teamwork. Every player will be paired with another, and the two of you collectively share the success—or failure—of a match. The buddy system also acts like a squad, in that you will be able to respawn near your buddy if you choose.

Character customizations are also an addition where a lot of time can be spent. Many of the customizations will be primarily aesthetic, with hundreds of clothes and accessories to choose from. Emblems will also make an appearance, but where the customizations will really play a major role is with the weaponry. These options will grant new abilities to the weapons, including better scopes, larger clips, better stocks and more.

While playing the online game, there will be two major features that help you to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, etc., etc.. The first is the boosters, which return from Uncharted 2, but with an updated selection. The boosters will, once again, allow you to purchase status upgrades to help you survive. Joining them are “kickbacks.”

Kickbacks are somewhat similar to killstreak rewards. Before you begin a game, you choose your kickback, which becomes active when you have accumulated a certain number of medals. Once you have the requisite number of medals, you can use weapons like an RPG, and other unlock-able items that will be debuted later.

Several more subtle changes have been introduced. Among these are the ability to join a game in progress, new in-game missions that offer rewards, and overtime, which kicks in when when a game is tied or the score is within one point at the end of a match. If a game is still very close at the end of the overtime, it will go into sudden death. On the flipside, if a match is not close, the game will enter a “Power Play,” which will increase the rewards for the winning team, and give the losing team a chance to catch up.

But perhaps most importantly, the one piece of news that is set to make waves throughout the Uncharted community, the one thing that will make all the difference is the inclusion of a Sprint button! Okay, so maybe it isn’t that big of a deal, but it’s neat.

There will also be plenty of co-op online, but that will be announced in the future, as will the split-screen online option that allow you to play all the game modes with your buddy locally.

For now though, check out the video and prepare for the beta. PlayStation Plus members and those that buy special editions of Infamous 2 will be granted access on June 28, while all PlayStation Network users will have access on July 5. Everyone in the world can join when Uncharted 3 is released on November 1.

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