“Advances in information communication technology are dramatically improving real-time communication and information-sharing. By improving access to information and facilitating global debate, they foster democratic participation. By amplifying the voices of human rights defenders and helping to expose abuses, these powerful technologies offer the promise of improved enjoyment of human rights. But at the same time it… Continue Reading
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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
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
The Transparency Reports Database – Government Requests for Users Data
Silk Transparency Project – “An increasing number of Internet and telecommunication companies are publishing reports detailing the number of government requests for user interaction data the companies have received in a given period of time. Technology and telecommunications companies store data on all user interactions. This includes “non-content data” (also called metadata). Metadata consists of login times, user location and… Continue Reading
Google Public Data Explorer
This Google search tool allows user to query for open data sets from 131 organizations that produce big data, including: Eurostat, Destatis, Statistics Ireland, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Central Statistics Office (Ireland), the World Bank, the OECD, the World Economic Forum, WHO, OMB, and the IMF. Users may compare data sets and create visualizations. “The… Continue Reading
Report – NSA Is Recording Every Cell Phone Call in the Bahamas
By Ryan Devereaux, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras: The National Security Agency is secretly intercepting, recording, and archiving the audio of virtually every cell phone conversation on the island nation of the Bahamas. According to documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the surveillance is part of a top-secret system – code-named SOMALGET – that was implemented without the knowledge or consent of… Continue Reading
DNI Announces the Release of Additional Documents Related to Collection Activities Authorized by President George W. Bush Shortly After the Attacks of Sept. 11
[On May 5, 2014] “the Director of National Intelligence released additional documents related to the intelligence-gathering activities authorized by President George W. Bush shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11 and subsequently transitioned to authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. On Dec. 20, 2013, the DNI declassified and acknowledged the presidentially-authorized activities, and his public… Continue Reading
Annual FISA Report Shows Decrease in Surveillance Orders, Questions About Scope Remain
EPIC: “The Department of Justice has published the 2013 FISA Report. The brief report provides summary information about the government’s use of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. In 2012 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court granted 1,789 FISA orders and 212 “Section 215” orders. In 2013, there were 1,588 requests to conduct FISA surveillance, with 34 modifications.… Continue Reading
Report – Preliminary findings on monitoring “preservation health” of digital repositories
Via OCLC Research: “National libraries, government archives, broadcasting archives, scientific data archives, and university repositories are all investing substantial resources in the creation and maintenance of preservation metadata for the curation and long-term preservation of their digital collections. This preservation metadata is often considered as “contingency information” that is stored and maintained in the event… Continue Reading
WaPo – Surveillance court rejected Verizon challenge to NSA calls program
Ellen Nakashima’s article [snipped] – Verizon in January filed a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s program that collects billions of Americans’ call-detail records, but a surveillance court rejected it, according to newly declassified documents and individuals with knowledge of the matter. In denying the phone company’s petition in March, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court… Continue Reading
Coalition Urges White House to Recognize EU Opinion; End NSA Telephone Records Program
“In a letter to the White House, a coalition of US organizations urged the Administration to recognize the recent opinion by the Court of Justice, the highest court in Europe, that ended a European data retention mandate. The European law required telephone and internet companies to retain metadata on customers for national security purposes. The European Court of Justice… Continue Reading
Overview of Constitutional Challenges to NSA Collection Activities and Recent Developments
CRS – Overview of Constitutional Challenges to NSA Collection Activities and Recent Developments. Edward C. Liu , Legislative Attorney; Andrew Nolan, Legislative Attorney; Richard M. Thompson II; Legislative Attorney, April 1, 2014 “Beginning in the summer of 2013, media reports of foreign intelligence activities conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA) have been published and are apparently based on unauthorized disclosures of… Continue Reading
