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'Canary Watch' legally reveals when sites get national security requests
Internet service companies like Reddit and Tumblr want to be transparent about user privacy. The problem is, they're sometimes forced by law to clam up when they receive specific national security data requests from agencies like the NSA or FBI. But there's nothing stopping them from saying they haven't received such requests, and that's where a new website called Canary Watch comes in. Like the birds that show a mine is safe by not being dead, the site tracks statements by websites like Pinterest saying they haven't received national security requests. If such "warrant canaries" suddenly disappear, Canary Watch will flag that fact, revealing that the site actually has received a request without breaking any laws.
