Surveillance and the Limits of Law

Section 215 of the Patriot Act is set to sunset. New legislation would kill it entirely. But how much do intelligence agencies follow the law anyway?

By Alex Marthews | March 4, 2020 | Defense, Government, Human Rights, Law, Privacy, Security | Amazon, AT&T, Black Lives Matter, Civil Liberties, Congress, Constitutional Law, Dissent, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FBI, FISA, Foreign Intelligence, Fourth Amendment, Gang of Eight, ICE, Intelligence Agencies, Internet, Jewel v. NSA, Law Enforcement, Legal Precedent, Mass Surveillance, Michael Hayden, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, NSA, Orwell, Palantir, Patriot Act, Privacy, Restore the Fourth, Revolution, Russell Tice, Section 215, Sensors, Spying, Standing Rock, Supreme Court, surveillance, Surveillance Oversight Ordinances, Violence

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Podcast #33: Clare Garvie on Facial Recognition

Facial recognition expert Clare Garvie explains how police are using (and abusing) this dangerous technology.

By Art Keller | July 3, 2019 | Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Law, Podcasts, Policing, Privacy, Security | 14th Amendment, Abuse, Biometric Surveillance, Carpenter v. US, Civil Liberties, Congress, Cross-Examination, Driver's Licenses, Due Process, Equal Protection, Exculpatory Evidence, Facial Recognition, Fair Trial, False Identification, False Imprisonment, FBI, First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Free Speech, Justice, Law Enforcement, Photo Databases, Police, Privacy

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Help End Section 702 Surveillance

Section 702 of 2008’s FISA Amendment Act, the basis of an enormous surveillance program, is about to lapse. A new bill, the USA Rights Act, would fix it.

By Mo Lotman | October 25, 2017 | Defense, Ethics, Government, Human Rights, Law, Policing, Privacy | ACLU, America, Back-Door Searches, Bipartisanship, CIA, Democracy, EFF, FAA, FBI, FISA, FISA Amendments, Foreign Intelligence, Fourth Amendment, Intelligence Agencies, Liberty Through Strength Act, NSA, Patriot Act, Privacy, Rand Paul, Restore the Fourth, Reverse Targeting, Ron Wyden, Rule of Law, Searches, Section 215, Section 702, surveillance, Ted Poe, Tom Cotton, US Constitution, USA Rights Act, Zoe Lofgren

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Will Surveillance Finally Sunset?

Controversial surveillance authorizations are scheduled to sunset this year. Now is the time to press for the end of these Constitution-defying practices.

By Warren Christopher Freiberg | July 26, 2017 | Defense, Government, Human Rights, Law, Privacy, Security | ACLU, Arab American Institute, Bob Goodlatte, Dan Coats, Donald Trump, Edward Snowden, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FBI, FISA, Foreign Intelligence, Fourth Amendment, Freedom of the Press Foundation, George W. Bush, House Freedom Caucus, Human Rights Watch, Internet, John Conyers, Mark Meadows, Mass Surveillance, Maya Berry, PRISM, Privacy, Restore the Fourth, Section 702, surveillance, Tom Cotton

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US Intelligence Stockpiles Cybersecurity Flaws, Leaving Everyone Vulnerable

US intelligence agencies are still hoarding “zero-day” cybersecurity vulnerabilities, making everyone less safe online while creating a market for unethical hackers.

By Art Keller | May 3, 2017 | Defense, Security | CIA, Cisco, Cybersecurity, Department of Commerce, Edward Snowden, FBI, Gamma Group, Hacking, Hardware, Julian Assange, Microsoft, National Cyber Security Alliance, NSA, Phishing, ReVuln, Security Flaw, Shadow Brokers, Small Business, Software, Vault 7, VEP, Vulnerability, Vulnerability Equity Process, Vupen, Wikileaks, Zero-day

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Now Following You on Twitter: The Police

Social media monitoring tools let local law enforcement scoop up and sift through everyone’s posts, regardless of suspicion.

By Warren Christopher Freiberg | March 29, 2017 | Law, Media, Policing, Privacy, Security | ACLU, Alex Marthews, Babel Street, Baltimore, Boston, Brennan Center for Justice, California, CIA, Civil Rights, Dataminr, Department of Homeland Security, Facebook, FBI, First Amendment, Florida, Fourth Amendment, Freddie Gray, Geofeedia, Instagram, Law Enforcement, Media Sonar, Michigan, Monitoring, Police, Protests, Restore the Fourth, Snaptrends, Social Media, Social Media Monitoring, surveillance, Texas, Tracking, Twitter

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2016, The Year in Review

A look back at the biggest technology-related stories of 2016.

By Mo Lotman | January 4, 2017 | Advertising, Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Cognition, Culture, Economics, Environment, Ethics, Health, Human Rights, Journalism, Media, Policing, Politics, Privacy, Society, Transportation | AI, Amazon, Analog, Antibacterial Soap, Apple, Augmented Reality, Autonomous Vehicles, Black Lives Matter, Brain Training, Cancer, Comet Ping Pong, Cryogenics, Data Breach, DDOS, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, DNC, Drone Delivery, Drones, Dyn, Encryption, Facebook Live, Fake News, FBI, FDA, Gawker, Genetic Engineering, Go, Google, Hacking, Hillary Clinton, Hulk Hogan, Internet of Things, iPhone, Lee Sedol, Live-Streaming, Lumosity, Mitocondrial Donation, music, Orwell, Peter Thiel, Philando Castile, Pokemon Go, Police Shootings, Politics, Records, Robots, Russia, San Bernardino, self-driving cars, Sex Tape, Spotify, surveillance, Terrorism, Tesla, Triclosan, Twitter, vinyl, Yahoo

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The Perpetual Line-Up: Interview With Clare Garvie

In October, the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law released The Perpetual Line-Up, a comprehensive report about the [...]

By Art Keller | December 7, 2016 | Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Law, Policing, Privacy, Security | ACLU, Anonymity, Biometric Data, Chicago Police, Constitution, Crime, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Driver's Licenses, Facebook, Facial Recognition, FBI, First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Freddy Gray, Freedom of Information Act, Geofeedia, Georgetown, Instagram, LAPD, Law Enforcement, Maryland, Michigan, Next Generation Identification System, NYPD, surveillance, Surveillance Cameras, Transparency, Twitter, West Virginia

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Speak No Evil: Victims Gagged as FBI Violates Rights

The FBIs use of National Security Letters is an end-run around the Constitution. Too bad no one can talk about it.

By Warren Christopher Freiberg | October 5, 2016 | Defense, Human Rights, Law, Privacy | Congress, Constitution, DOJ, EFF, FBI, First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, Gag Orders, Microsoft, National Security Letters, NSLs, Privacy, surveillance

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