EPIC – “The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the NSA’s telephone record collection program exceeds legal authority. The government claimed that it could collect all records under the Section 215 “relevance” standard. But the court rejected that argument and held that “such an expansive concept of ‘relevance’ is unprecedented and unwarranted.” The… Continue Reading
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Search Results for: NSA's bulk record collection
Privacy Board Renews Call for President Obama to End Bulk Collection
EPIC – “The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board released a report on prior recommendations regarding the NSA’s domestic and global surveillance programs. The Board stated that the Obama Administration has failed to end the domestic telephone collection program. The Board stated, “the Administration can end the bulk telephone records program at any time, without… 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
EPIC – Deadline Approaches for End of NSA’s Telephone Record Collection Program
“March 28 marks the deadline set by President Obama to end the NSA’s bulk collection of American’s telephone records. Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed that the Justice Department is ready to meet the deadline that the President has set. After extensive meetings with leaders of the Intelligence Community, both the President’s Review Group and the Privacy and Civil Liberties… Continue Reading
EPIC – New Limits on NSA Telephone Record Program Established, Authority Expires March 28
“The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has granted the government’s motion to limit access by the NSA to the bulk telephone records provided by US telephone companies. Under the new rules, the government cannot “query” the telephone metadata until after the court finds that there is a “reasonable, articulable suspicion that the selection term is associated with” a… Continue Reading
EPIC – Foreign Intelligence Court Releases Controversial Opinion on Domestic Telephone Records Program
“The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) has released an Opinion, justifying the NSA’s telephone record collection program. In the Opinion, Judge Claire Eagan states that “there is no Fourth Amendment impediment to the collection” of all domestic call detail records. Judge Eagan also concluded that all domestic call detail records are “relevant” under Section 215 because “individuals associated… Continue Reading
Inspector General Warns: Significant Oversight of Section 215 Required
EPIC – “The DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General released a report this month detailing the FBI’s use of Section 215 and warning that “significant oversight” is required. The Inspector General describes the FBI’s expanding use of 215 to collect electronic information in bulk and criticized the agency for taking seven years to develop minimization… Continue Reading
Obama’s intel czar confirms targeting U.S. communications
National Journal – How the NSA Used a ‘Loophole’ to Spy on Americans: “Technology Correspondent Brendan Sasso reports that Obama’s intel czar confirmed that they’re targeting U.S. communications: Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act gives the NSA broad power to listen in on phone calls and access emails. But the law covers only non-Americans located outside of… Continue Reading
Government to Release More NSA Documents and FISA Court Opinions in Response to EFF Lawsuit
“On Monday, the US Department of Justice will release to the public hundreds of additional pages of government documents concerning its use of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the provision of law the NSA relies on to collect the call records of millions of Americans. The disclosures will follow closely on the heels of yesterday’s reports in… Continue Reading
Senate Intelligence Committee Approves FISA Improvements Act
Increases privacy protections, oversight, transparency of critical intelligence programs: The Senate Intelligence Committee [October 31, 2013] approved the FISA Improvements Act by a vote of 11-4. The bipartisan legislation increases privacy protections and public transparency of the National Security Agency call-records program in several ways, while preserving the operational effectiveness and flexibility of this vital… Continue Reading
Guardian – FISA Court rules that allow NSA to use US data
“Top secret documents submitted to the court that oversees surveillance by US intelligence agencies show the judges have signed off on broad orders which allow the NSA to make use of information “inadvertently” collected from domestic US communications without a warrant. The Guardian is publishing in full two documents submitted to the secret Foreign Intelligence… Continue Reading
