Report on the Surveillance Program Operated Pursuant to Sec7on 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Pre-Release July 2, 2014. “During the course of this study, it became clear to the Board that each program required a level of review that was best undertaken and presented to the public in a separate report. As such, the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Patriot Act
Court gave NSA broad leeway in surveillance, documents show – WaPo
Washington Post, Ellen Nakashima and Barton Gellman: “Virtually no foreign government is off-limits for the National Security Agency, which has been authorized to intercept information “concerning” all but four countries, according to top-secret documents. The United States has long had broad no-spying arrangements with those four countries — Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — in a group… Continue Reading
U.S. Says It Spied on 89,000 Targets Last Year, But the Number Is Deceptive – Wired
Follow up to previous posting – ODNI and DOJ – Declassification of Renewal of Collection Under Section 501 of FISA – this commentary from Wired: “About 89,000 foreigners or organizations were targeted for spying under a U.S. surveillance order last year, according to a new transparency report. The report was released for the first time Friday by… Continue Reading
ODNI and DOJ – Declassification of Renewal of Collection Under Section 501 of FISA
“On March 28, 2014, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) declassified and disclosed publically that the U.S. government had filed an application with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) seeking renewal of the authority to collect telephony metadata in bulk, and that, on March 28, 2014, the FISC renewed that authority. The DNI also announced… Continue Reading
Diverse organizations launch coalition focused on ending mass cyber surveillance
“We are a coalition of organizations from across the political spectrum joining forces to fight mass surveillance by the National Security Agency. We have different missions, different goals, different communities that we represent. However, we all agree that mass surveillance is contrary to freedom and democracy. It must be stopped. Surveillance that sweeps up the communications of… Continue Reading
Unanimous Supreme Court Upholds Privacy Rights of Cell Phone Users – EPIC
EPIC – “The Supreme Court ruled today that a warrantless search of a cell phone violates the Fourth Amendment, even when it occurs during a lawful arrest. The Court’s decision in Riley v. California makes clear that “a search of the information on a cell phone bears little resemblance to the type of brief physical search” allowed… Continue Reading
Federal Appeals Court Releases “Drone Killing” Memo, EPIC Filed Amicus
EPIC – “The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today made public the legal analysis justifying the Administration’s controversial “targeted killing” drone program. The action follows an earlier ruling by the federal appeals court in New York Times v. Department of Justice. The government had argued that this memo could not be disclosed under the Freedom of… Continue Reading
The USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 3361) as Passed by The US House
Via cdt – “The USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 3361) is the most significant national security surveillance reform legislation in more than a decade. The bill was watered down in the House prior to final passage, prompting CDT, other public interest groups, and many major technology companies to withdraw support for the bill. CDT is urging the Senate to make… Continue Reading
Obama Renews NSA Bulk Record Collection Program – EPIC
EPIC – “Today the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence announced that the President will seek a renewal of the court order authorizing the NSA’s bulk collection of American telephone records through September 12, 2014. The President has chosen to renew this order despite his promise in March 2014 to end the bulk collection program and the… Continue Reading
Coalition to President: End NSA’s Bulk Collection Program Now
“EPIC and a coalition of 25 organizations urged the President and the Attorney General to end the NSA’s bulk record collection program when the current authority expires on June 20. In January, the President committed to “end the Section 215 bulk metadata program as it currently exists.” The coalition letter states, “[t]he NSA’s Bulk Metadata program is simply not… Continue Reading
On Privacy, New Survey Places US Attitudes Among EU Countries
EPIC – “One of the most comprehensive surveys of privacy ever undertaken finds US attitudes toward privacy remarkably similar to those of Europeans. The survey of 15 countries on privacy, and tradeoffs consumers are prepared to make, placed the US squarely in the middle of European countries, roughly between France and Italy on one side and Germany and… Continue Reading
EFF – Judge Orders DOJ to Turn Over Secret Legal Opinions for Court to Review
“A federal judge [on June 13, 2014] ordered the Department of Justice to hand over key opinions by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (also known as the “FISA court”) so the judge can directly review whether information about mass surveillance was improperly withheld from the public. The order is another victory in EFF’s Freedom of Information Act lawsuit… Continue Reading
