Feeds
A nonprofit digital library has successfully fought an FBI attempt to seize information about one of its users, and is calling on other groups to challenge government agencies attempting to obtain online customer information without a judge's order.
The FBI is resisting legislation that would put more restrictions on domestic surveillance of Americans' private records, saying the agency already has tightened its rules to crack down on wrongful use of national security letters.
The military is using the FBI to skirt legal restrictions on domestic surveillance to obtain private records of Americans' Internet service providers, financial institutions and telephone companies, the ACLU said Tuesday.
Top-level FBI counterterrorism executives issued improper blanket demands in 2006 for records of 3,860 telephone lines to justify the fact that agents already had obtained the data using an illegal procedure that is now prohibited, the Justice Department inspector general reported Thursday.
The Justice Department's inspector general reported Thursday that FBI abuses in obtaining personal information about Americans during terrorism investigations continued to rise in 2006. He reserved judgment on whether corrective actions under way will work.
Republicans and Democrats alike sternly warned the FBI on Tuesday that it risks losing its broad power to collect telephone, e-mail and financial records to hunt terrorists because of rampant abuses of the authority.
The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions.
The FBI improperly and, in some cases, illegally used the USA Patriot Act to secretly obtain personal information about people in the United States, a Justice Department audit concluded Friday.
Matt Blaze: The Metadata is the MessageWarrantless wiretapping is back in the news, thanks largely to Michael Isikoff's cover piece in the December 22 issue of Newsweek.
Does Big Brother know what you're reading?You are a librarian in a quiet town. One day a government spy hands you a "secret letter" demanding your borrowers' records and computer files. You are not to discuss this with anyone, and you are not allowed to contest the demand in court. (via American Libraries Direct)
FBI Withdraws Digital Library's National Security LetterA nonprofit digital library has successfully fought an FBI attempt to seize information about one of its users, and is calling on other groups to challenge government agencies attempting to obtain online customer information without a judge's order.
Googly Feds: National Security Letters Demand OversightThe FBI wants to Google you. Online, offline, underline. And they'd prefer to do it without your knowledge, thank you very much. They are asking us to trust them. They have a surprisingly short memory of the history of their institution.
Verizon accused of helping the FBI help the Pentagon monitor American emails, cell phones and IMsThe Federal Bureau of Investigation has been routinely monitoring the e-mails, instant messages and cell phone calls of suspects across the United States -- and has done so, in many cases, without the approval of a court.
ACLU: Military Using FBI to Skirt Domestic Surveillance RestrictionsThe military is using the FBI to skirt legal restrictions on domestic surveillance to obtain private records of Americans' Internet service providers, financial institutions and telephone companies, the ACLU said Tuesday.
At OpEdNews: My National Security Gag Ordera true story written in the Washington Post by a receipient of a National Security Letter (NSL) carrying a gag order with a penalty of five years in jail for telling even his girlfriend. The country: Post-11 USA.
Comcast charges the NSA $1,000 per wiretapAlthough the scope of surveillance conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act remains shrouded in secrecy, newly disclosed documents show the costs one company charges the government to eavesdrop on customers.
Implementing Domestic Intelligence SurveillanceUpon lawful request and for a thousand dollars, Comcast, one of the nation's leading telecommunications companies, will intercept its customers' communications under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Pentagon, FBI misusing secret info requests: ACLUThe Pentagon has misled Congress and the US public by conniving with the FBI to obtain hundreds of financial, telephone and Internet records without court approval, civil-rights campaigners said Sunday.
F.B.I. Data Mining Reached Beyond Target Suspects The community of interest data sought by the F.B.I. is central to a data-mining technique intelligence officials call link analysis. Since the attacks of Sept.
Court Strikes Down Key Patriot Act Power AgainA US District Court struck down a key provision of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional Thursday, marking the second time that a provision which allows anti-terrorism investigators to write their own subpoenas for phone and internet records and require the recipients to never spea …
Federal Court Strikes Down National Security Letter Provision of Patriot Act A federal court today struck down the amended Patriot Act's National Security Letter (NSL) provision.
What Else Does FBI Director Mueller Know About Domestic Spying?The domestic snooping story doesn't end with the White House's bullying of an ailing John Ashcroft. Congress is still waiting for the FBI chief to answer serious questions about the administration's suspected abuse of national security letters.
Your Help Needed in Analyzing FBI DocsLacking something to read at the beach this summer? Problem solved: There are 1,138 pages detailing FBI activity that need to be pored over by good citizens so as to ferret out abuse of power.
Did Gonzales Lie to the Senate?New testimony from FBI Director Robert Mueller suggests that the attorney general did not tell Congress the truth about warrantless wiretapping.
Inspector General Confirms Probe of Rogue FBI Anti-Terror OfficeThe Justice Department's Inspector General, along with the FBI, are investigating an office that sent fake, emergency letters to telecoms requesting phone records despite not having applied for the future subpoenas promised in the letters and not having the authority to request t …
Help EFF Examine Once-Secret FBI DocsI got this via BoingBoing. Some of us had written a few months ago about government documents being released and bloggers being able to go through them. This article will provide you with downloads about Patriot Act abuses. If you find anything interesting, post it here!
Librarians Describe Life Under An FBI Gag OrderLife in an FBI muzzle is no fun. Two Connecticut librarians on Sunday described what it was like to be slapped with an FBI national security letter and accompanying gag order. It sounded like a spy movie or, gulp, something that happens under a repressive foreign government.
Federal court orders FBI to release national security letter documentsThe order set a July 5 deadline for the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI to begin releasing documents to the EFF, and ordered the DOJ and FBI to release an additional 2500 pages of documents every 30 days thereafter.
Judge Orders FBI to Turn Over Thousands of Patriot Act Abuse DocumentsJust one day after a news that an internal audit found that FBI agents abused a Patriot Act power more than 1000 times, a federal judge ordered the agency Friday to begin turning over thousands of pages of documents related to the agency''s use of a powerful, but extremely secret …
FBI Finds It Frequently Overstepped in Collecting DataAn internal FBI audit has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years, far more than was documented in a Justice Department report in …
2,176 Secret Warrants Issued in 2006A secret court approved all but one of the government's requests last year to search or eavesdrop on suspected terrorists and spies, according to Justice Department data released Tuesday.
White House Privacy Board Says It's All GoodThe White House's hand-picked Privacy and Civil Liberty Oversight Board released its first-ever report to Congress Monday, finding that controversial programs such as government watch lists and the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping program do not impinge on Americans' civil libe …
Who's Watching the FBI?In "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy," Woody Allen shows up at Mia Farrow's window on a flying bicycle and urges her to hop on. "Andrew, we'll get killed," she protests. "Trust me," he replies, "it's me, Andrew." She looks skeptical, and he tries again.
Log In | Register
