The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has issued a list of questions for reporters to ask Attorney General Ashcroft as he pursues his national PR campaign in support of the Patriot Act. The questions focus on the impact of Sec. 215 of the Act (Access to Records and Other Items Under the Foreign… Continue Reading
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Search Results for: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act
From the American Library Association Washington Office Newsline: “On July 31, 2003, Senator Feingold (D-WI), joined by Senators Bingaman (D-NM), Kennedy (D-MA), Cantwell (D-WA), Durbin (D-IL), Wyden (D-OR), Corzine (D-NJ), Akaka (D-HI), and Jeffords (I-VT), introduced the Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act (S. 1507). The bill would amend the PATRIOT Act to protect… Continue Reading
Ashcroft Defends Patriot Act
Attorney General Ashcroft promotes antiterrorism law: Speaking at a homeland security conference on Monday, “Ashcroft said the USA PATRIOT Act preserved traditional checks on library, bookstore and business records because a “federal judge must first issue a warrant” and because it is for “foreign intelligence that doesn’t affect U.S. persons.” Statement of Barbara Comstock, Director… Continue Reading
FISA and the Patriot Act
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Before and After the USA PATRIOT Act, from the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, June 2003 (via Secrecy News). “…care must be taken to ensure that the new tools provided by Congress in the USA PATRIOT Act are employed within the constraints of the Constitution. The Supreme Court has said “the police… Continue Reading
Senate Passes Amendments to Surveillance Act
On May 8, the Senate passed, 90 – 4, S. 113, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance bill “to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to cover individuals, other than United States persons, who engage in international terrorism without affiliation with an international terrorist group.” See the text of the floor debate from the… Continue Reading
Domestic Surveillance Report for 2002
Via the FAS Project on Government Secrecy, news that Attorney General Ashcroft has submitted a report “pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, Title 50, United States Code, Section 1807, as amended,” as acknowledged in this letter. The letter states, “1228 applications were made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for electronic surveillance… Continue Reading
Librarians, Booksellers and the Patriot Act
ABC News has highlighted the ongoing story on the battle being waged by libraries and booksellers against the Patriot Act (Sec. 215. Access to Records and Other Items Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) that permits government access to data about patron reading habits, Internet usage, and book purchases. Opposition to many aspects of this… Continue Reading
The FBI, FISA and Surveillance
EPIC has obtained a copy of an Internal FBI Guidance on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (pdf), dated 1/23/03, that provides detailed information in response to the question, “What do I have to do to get a FISA?” i.e., the steps necessary to obtain authorization for electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes. See also my… Continue Reading
Library Surveillance Exclusion Sought
Spurred on by an October 22, 2002 letter from the Vermont Library Association, Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) introduced a new bill on March 6, the Freedom to Read Protection Act, to exempt libraries and bookstores from Section 215 of the Patriot Act. He did so with a bi-partisan coalition of 24 co-sponsors. Section 215 is… Continue Reading
Here’s Who Just Voted to Let the FBI Seize Your Online Search History Without a Warrant
Gizmodo – “A bipartisan amendment that would have prohibited law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, from obtaining the web browsing and internet search histories of Americans without a warrant failed to pass in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday by a single vote. Twenty-seven Republicans and 10 Democrats voted against the amendment to H.R. 6172,… Continue Reading
NSA Reports Call Detail Records (CDR) Deletion
NSA/CSS Statement, June 28, 2018: “Consistent with NSA’s core values of respect for the law, accountability, integrity, and transparency we are making public notice that on May 23, 2018, NSA began deleting all call detail records (CDRs) acquired since 2015 under Title V of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The Government relies on Title… Continue Reading
Google – Updating our Transparency Report and electronic privacy laws
“Today, we are releasing the latest version of our Transparency Report concerning government requests for user data. This includes government requests for user data in criminal cases, as well as national security matters under U.S. law. Google fought for the right to publish this information in court and before Congress, and we continue to believe… Continue Reading
