Favorite This week, 24 civil liberties organizations, including EFF and the ACLU, urged Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats to report—as required by law—statistics that could help clear up just how many individuals are burdened by broad NSA surveillance of domestic telephone records. These records show who is calling whom and when, but not the…
All posts tagged Patriot Act
Trump’s FBI Pick Has a Troubling History on Digital Liberties
Favorite President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Christopher Wray, will begin his confirmation process next week, giving lawmakers an opportunity to press him on his previous statements about expansive surveillance authorities and aggressive copyright prosecution. Defense of the USA PATRIOT Act During his tenure as Assistant Attorney General in the Bush Administration, Wray…
New CIA Director Mike Pompeo Sparks Privacy Concerns
Favorite The U.S. Senate confirmed Kansas Republican Rep. Mike Pompeo to be the Director of the CIA late on Monday over concerns from several congressional Democrats, who warned that putting Pompeo at the head of the intelligence agency would threaten civil liberties. In an impassioned floor speech, Sen. Bernie Sanders called it “vital to have…
EFF to Tech Leaders: Stand With Users and Tell Trump We Need Strong Encryption, Internet Freedom
Favorite Technology company leaders are reportedly meeting with President-elect Donald Trump and members of his transition team tomorrow in New York. Mr. Trump’s relationship with technology companies has been frosty, and his statements during the campaign and recent cabinet picks raise serious concerns about the new administration’s commitment to protecting the digital rights of all…
Debunking the Patriot Act as It Turns 15
Favorite The Patriot Act turns 15 today, but that’s nothing to celebrate. Since President George W. Bush signed this bill into law on October 26, 2001, the Patriot Act has been ardently defended by its supporters in the intelligence community and harshly criticized by members of Congress, the tech industry, and privacy advocates like us.…
First FISC Phone Records Ruling Post-USA FREEDOM Exposes Shortcomings of Reforms
Favorite The secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) had its first opportunity to review a government request for telephone call records since the enactment in June 2015 of the USA FREEDOM Act, which placed some restrictions and oversight on the NSA’s surveillance powers. Unfortunately the results of this first post-USA FREEDOM FISC review are not…
What Happens #IfThePatriotActExpires? ISIS, Hellfire, Doom
Favorite Glenn Greenwald slammed the New York Times Thursday morning for a story quoting numerous anonymous senior officials who claimed that the non-renewal of three sections of the Patriot Act was tantamount to “playing national security Russian Roulette” in a time of unspecified “mounting terrorism threats.” Sensing the true danger involved, many vigilant citizens (starting with…