The National Security Agency program that swept up details on billions of Americans’ phone calls was illegal and possibly unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. From a report: However, the unanimous three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the role the so-called telephone metadata program played in a criminal terror-fundraising case against four Somali immigrants was so…
Tag: FISA
Leaked Senate Talking Points Say Internet Surveillance Warrants Would Force FBI To Let Terrorists Bomb Things
Requiring federal agents to have “probable cause” to eavesdrop on the internet activities of American citizens poses a direct threat to national security and would force the FBI to stand by while terrorist plots unfold on U.S. soil, according to a leaked copy of talking points distributed to Senate lawmakers this month. From a report: The talking points, which were distributed…
Senate Passes Surveillance Bill Without Ban On Web History Snooping
The Senate has voted to reauthorize the USA Freedom Act without adding an amendment that would have restricted warrantless collection of internet search and web browsing data. It did however adopt an amendment to expand oversight. The Verge reports: The USA Freedom Reauthorization Act restores government powers that expired in March with Section 215 of the Patriot Act. The [Act] lets…
Can the FBI Be Trusted with the Surveillance of Americans?
Slashdot reader Matt.Battey writes: While everyone was at home, hunkered down watching Tiger King, and avoiding COVID-19, America’s Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released an update to his December, 2019 report. The findings weren’t reassuring… Over at Bloomberg, they go so far as to say “The FBI Can’t Be Trusted With the Surveillance of Americans.” From the national security blog…