Tag Archives: Bulk Data Collection

Opinion, Politics, Privacy, Technology

New Documents Reveal the NSA is Still Collecting Americans’ Emails

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New records obtained by the New York Times via Freedom of Information Act requests reveal that the National Security Agency’s mass collection of email communications likely continues using different methods which are not restricted by the law.

The new details, part of a report from the NSA’s inspector general, reveal at least four reasons why the NSA ended the email program. Three of these reasons are redacted but the fourth states “other authorities can satisfy certain foreign intelligence requirements” that the bulk email records program “had been designed to meet.”

The report also details two other legal ways the government may acquire the data. First, the NSA may gather Americans’ data that has been gathered in other countries by examining the fiber optic cables which power the internet. As the New York Times writes, these activities “are largely not subject to regulation by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.” The NSA was previously not allowed to gather domestic data using this procedure, but that rule was changed in November 2010.

The other method for spying on Americans which the NSA may legally employ involves the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act of 2008, which allows for warrantless domestic surveillance.

These revelations come on the eve of the end of another program which allows the collection of Americans’ phone records. Under the recently passed USA Freedom Act the NSA can still access the records in the pursuit of terrorists, but the records remain with the telecommunications companies.

Timothy Edgar, a privacy official in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence with both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations who is now a teacher at Brown University, told the New York Times that “The document makes it clear that NSA is able to get all the Internet metadata it needs through foreign collection.”

If Americans were hopeful that the USA Freedom Act was going to stop the bulk collection of data, they are in for disappointment. As long as the state has the technology and the resources (funded via tax dollars), they will use whatever tools they have at their disposal to monitor innocent individuals as the march towards complete loss of civil liberties continues.

Election, Privacy

Did Carly Fiorina Disclose Classified Information When Revealing Her Ties to the NSA?

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In a recent interview, GOP presidential candidate and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina revealed her connection to the NSA and in doing so, she may have disclosed classified information about the launch of the agency’s warrantless wiretapping program.

Fiorina recently said that she redirected trucks of HP servers from retail stores to the NSA’s headquarters after receiving a call from former NSA director Michael Hayden shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, asking her to “quickly provide his agency with HP computer servers for expanded surveillance.”

[RELATED: Carly Fiorina Defends CIA Torture, Handed HP Servers to NSA]

Hayden confirmed the request, and said that the HP servers were used to implement STELLARWIND, the controversial warrantless wiretapping program that is used to collect Americans’ bulk phone records.

Fiorina’s involvement with the NSA was not widely known prior to her interview with Yahoo News in September, and VICE’s Motherboard suggested that this may be due to the fact that the information Fiorina shared was classified.

Paul Dietrich, an activist and independent researcher, noted on Twitter that Fiorina’s claim is backed up in an NSA Inspector General report on STELLARWIND that was leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013.

The report refers to an order of 50 “computer servers to store and process data acquired under the new authority,” and in a footnote it says that “because of the heightened terrorist threat,” a vendor “diverted a shipment of servers intended for other recipients” to the NSA on Oct. 13, 2001.

Although the report was partially classified by the NSA in April, the page that referenced the transfer of the computer servers remained blacked out, suggesting that the information it contains is still considered classified.

While the report does not exclusively name HP as the company that sent the servers, Dietrich told Motherboard that this was because the NSA “REALLY HATES talking about corporate relationships.”

The NSA has yet to confirm whether Fiorina leaked classified information when revealing her company’s ties to the implementation of STELLARWIND.

In May, Fiorina told CNN that she has little sympathy for Edward Snowden, who is known for leaking documents that revealed the U.S. government is spying on innocent Americans and collecting their phone records.

“I think Edward Snowden has been terribly destructive,” Fiorina said. “He has been less than forthcoming. It was a very slanted portrayal about what the NSA does, and he knows it.”

For more election coverage, click here.

Civil Liberties, Privacy

Federal Court Rules To Uphold Bulk Spying

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Three judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decided to uphold the NSA’s bulk spying program, rebuking a 2013 ruling that disputed the program’s legality and called the technology “almost Orwellian.”

In the December 2013 ruling, Judge Richard Leon of District of Columbia’s Federal District Court wrote that the program was likely in violation of the 4th Amendment. The 2013 ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by several plaintiffs and led by Larry Klayman, challenging the spying program. It was the first time that a public court had acknowledged a problem with the program’s constitutionality.

According to National Journal, the Republican-nominated judges ruled Friday that the plaintiffs challenging the program’s constitutionality do not have the “standing” to do so, and the ruling “reaffirmed Friday that the plaintiff did not demonstrate the ‘concrete and particularized’ injury required to be able to sue because he could not prove that his own metadata was caught up in the NSA’s dragnet.”

A separate ruling in May from the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had deemed the NSA’s data collection program illegal, but the FISA court was later authorized to continue the collection.

Due to the passage of the USA Freedom Act, the program is scheduled to end on November 29, 2015.

 

Editor’s Pick, Featured, Government Accountability, Privacy

FISA Court Renews NSA Collection Of Phone Records

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The NSA has been authorized to resume bulk collection of American phone records while expired Patriot Act provisions give way to modified data collection practices under the USA Freedom Act.

According to an order on Monday by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the federal government’s request to renew dragnet data collection of U.S. phone metadata until November 29, 2015 was approved. As the Freedom Act reportedly prepares to implement limitations regarding some aspects of NSA surveillance, the legislation provides a “transition period” in which the NSA will be allowed to temporarily continue its controversial data collection practices that a federal appeals court had declared illegal in May.

[RELATED: Federal Appeals Court Ruling: NSA Data Collection Is Illegal]

“This application presents the question whether the recently-enacted USA FREEDOM Act, in amending Title V of FISA, ended the bulk collection of telephone metadata. The short answer is yes. But in doing so, Congress deliberately carved out a 180-day period following the date of enactment in which such collection was specifically authorized. For this reason, the Court approves the application in this case,” stated the order.

The Department of Justice had filed a request in June seeking to continue bulk data collection. The request, written by Justice Department national security chief John Carlin, cited the Freedom Act’s “orderly transition” clause and appeared to be asking FISA to ignore the May appeals court ruling.

[RELATED: DoJ Asks Surveillance Court To Ignore Federal Court’s Ruling On Illegal NSA Spying]

“The Second Circuit’s recent panel opinion in ACLU v. Clapper, No. 14-42 (2d Cir. May 7, 2015) does not bar this Court from authorizing the production in bulk of call 6 detail records, notwithstanding its holding that Section 1861 does not authorize the bulk production of call detail records,” Carlin wrote in the June 2 request.

 

 

Civil Liberties, Government Accountability, Government Corruption, Politics, Privacy, Technology, US

Senate Advances USA Freedom Act, Begins Debate On Amendments

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On Tuesday, the United States Senate voted, 83-14, to advance the USA Freedom Act, opening it up to a series of amendments that will be voted on, before a final Senate vote on the bill on Tuesday afternoon.

The USA Freedom Act was created as a substitute for Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which expired at 12:01 a.m. on June 1. The controversial Section 215 was used by the National Security Agency to justify its bulk collection of Americans’ data. The campaign against extending the Patriot Act was led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who hailed the expiration of Section 215 as a victory over NSA spying.

Advocates of the USA Freedom Act presented it as a way to curb the powers of the NSA by transferring the bulk collection Americans’ phone records to private companies. However, those in opposition noted that it wouldn’t end the government’s collection; it would only change the channels the government went through to collect Americans’ records.

While the House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act with an overwhelming vote of 338-88, the bill failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate on May 22, with a 57-42, following Paul’s 10-hour and 30-minute speech against both the USA Freedom Act, and an extension of the Patriot Act, on May 20.

Following a weeklong recess, in which many lawmakers vowed to lobby for the three votes needed to pass the USA Freedom Act, it was advanced in the Senate on Sunday, with a vote of 77-17.

Now that the USA Freedom Act has advanced in the Senate, the debate on possible amendments to the bill will begin, and if any of those amendments are passed, the bill will then return to the House of Representatives for another vote.

The Guardian reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is presenting three amendments, which he called “common sense” safeguards for “fundamental and necessary counterterrorism tools.”

The first of McConnell’s proposed amendments would “allow for more time of the construction and testing of a system that does not yet exist,” the second would “ensure that the director of national intelligence is in charged with at least ensuring the readiness of the system,” and the third would require telecom companies to notify Congress when they “elect to change their data retention policies.”

While Paul has gained support from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, one of his most prominent allies has been Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a strong opponent of NSA surveillance.

Bloomberg reported that Paul and Wyden will propose nine amendments to the USA Freedom Act that would aid in increasing the visibility and restricting the actions of the intelligence agencies:

  • Require the government to get a warrant before collecting personal information from third parties.
  • Raise the standard for government collection of call records under FISA from “reasonable grounds” to “probable cause.”
  • Limit the government’s ability to use information gathered under intelligence authorities in unrelated criminal cases.
  • Amendment 1443: Make it easier to challenge the use of illegally obtained surveillance information in criminal proceedings.
  • Prohibit the government from requiring hardware and software companies to deliberately weaken encryption and other security features.
  • Clarify the bill’s definition of “specific selection terms.”
  • Require court approval for National Security Letters.
  • Prohibit the government from conducting warrantless reviews of Americans’ email and other communications under section 702 of the Foreign intelligence Surveillance Act.
  • Strengthen the bill with additional provisions from previously introduced surveillance reform legislation.
Election, Featured, Government Accountability, Government Corruption, International, Politics, Privacy, States Rights, Technology, US

Rand Paul Ends Filibuster Against Patriot Act Renewal After Over 10 Hours

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On Wednesday, GOP Presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) took to the floor of the Senate for 10 hours and 30 minutes to filibuster the renewal of Section 215 of the Patriot Act. The controversial section, which is used by the National Security Agency to justify its bulk collection of Americans’ data, is set to expire at the end of the month.

Paul held the floor from 1:18 p.m. to 11:49 p.m. on Wednesday. Politico noted that by extending his filibuster to the brink of Thursday, Paul prevented Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) from filing cloture on a bill that would extend the Patriot Act.

According to the Washington Times, McConnell had said on Tuesday that he would schedule a vote this week on a rewrite of the Patriot Act, “setting up a final showdown on the NSA’s bulk-data programs and putting pressure on civil liberties advocates to muster the 60 votes needed to end the snooping,” in the hopes that the senators would end up having to accept an extension of the current Patriot Act.

The Hill reported that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) followed Paul’s speech with a move to adjourn, “meaning the Senate won’t be able to take a procedural vote on either a surveillance reform bill or a ‘clean’ extension of the Patriot Act until at least Saturday.”

Paul began his filibuster by highlighting the un-patriotic nature of the “Patriot” Act:

[pull_quote_center]There comes to a time in the history of nations when fear and complacency allow power to accumulate and liberty and privacy to suffer. That time is now. And I will not let the Patriot Act, the most unpatriotic of acts, go unchallenged.[/pull_quote_center]

Emphasizing the fact that Congress has not scheduled enough time to debate the constitutionality of the NSA’s massive surveillance program, Paul insisted that further debate should be held on the subject:

[pull_quote_center]At the very least we should debate, we should debate whether or not we are going to relinquish our rights or whether or not we are going to have a full and able debate over whether or not we can live within the constitution or whether or not we have to go around the constitution.[/pull_quote_center]

Paul also highlighted the fact that the Patriot Act was  “rushed on the floor” in the aftermath of 9/11, and that even though it was several hundred pages long, “nobody read it,” they just voted on it because they were in fear of another attack.

[pull_quote_center]The president began this program by executive order. He should immediately end it by executive order. For over a year now, he has said the program is illegal, and yet he does nothing.[/pull_quote_center]

Paul, who has been a strong advocate for ending the NSA’s massive surveillance program throughout his presidential campaign, received support on the Senate floor from both Republicans and Democrats.

The Hill noted that seven Democratic Senators came to the Senate floor in support of Paul’s speech, including Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Two Republican Senators, Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), took to the Senate floor to provide Paul with relief, while other Republicans including Sens. Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Rod Blum (R-Iowa) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) supported him from the sidelines.

Amash took to social media to share his bipartisan letter to the Senate, which included signatures from 59 representatives, opposing any reauthorization of the Patriot Act.

More than 10 hours into his speech, Paul received support from another presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). While Cruz said that he and Paul do not “agree entirely” on the issue of NSA surveillance, he also said that Paul is “a voice that this body needs to listen to.”

Paul’s speech received criticism from Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), who called Paul’s filibuster against NSA surveillance “irrational,” and “damaging to American security.”

As previously reported, the Department of Justice recently released a memo stating that Congress has until Friday to re-authorize section 215, or the Obama administration will “will begin winding down the program.”

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Election, Featured, Government Accountability, Politics, Privacy, Technology, US

Rand Paul Plans To Filibuster Renewal Of The Patriot Act

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On Monday, 2016 Presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced that he plans to fight back against the renewal of section 215 of the Patriot Act, which is used by the National Security Agency to justify its bulk collection of Americans’ data. Section 215 is set to expire on June 1.

During an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader, Paul said that he plans to “lead the charge” in the fight against the NSA’s unlawful data collection.

[pull_quote_center]“I’m going to lead the charge in the next couple of weeks as the Patriot Act comes forward,” Paul said. “We will be filibustering. We will be trying to stop it. We are not going to let them run over us. And we are going to demand amendments and we are going to make sure the American people know that some of us at least are opposed to unlawful searches.“[/pull_quote_center]

The Huffington Post noted that Congress must renew the Patriot Act by May 22, and that it is not clear whether Paul plans “to vote to block reauthorizing the surveillance law, or whether he intends to mount a traditional ‘talking’ filibuster” on the Senate floor.

On Thursday, a federal appeals court ruled that the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records “exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized” and is illegal.

Paul has been very adamant in taking a stand against the NSA’s unconstitutional collection of Americans’ data. At a speech in New Hampshire on April 8, Paul condemned the NSA’s program and vowed that if elected as President in 2016, he would end it “on day one.”

“Warrantless searches of Americans phone records and computer records, are un-American and a threat to our civil liberties,” Paul said. “I say that your phone records are yours. I say the phone records of law-abiding citizens are none of their damn business. The president created this vast dragnet by executive order. As President, on day one I will immediately end this unconstitutional program.”

Paul is not the only Senator speaking out against the renewal of the Patriot Act. On Sunday, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told MSNBC that if the renewal includes the continued collection of Americans’ phone records, he also plans to filibuster.

“The question will be, as you know, the Senate Republican leadership has been looking at a variety of ways to move forward to keep the bulk phone records collection program going,” Wyden said. “What usually happens is they say, ‘Let’s just have a short-term extension of it.’ I’m tired of extending a bad law. If they come back with that effort to basically extend this for a short term without major reforms like ending the collection of phone records, I do intend to filibuster.”

In contrast from both Paul and Wyden, rumored 2016 Presidential Candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has defended the NSA’s bulk data collection on multiple occasions, calling the program hugely important in the United States’ long-term battle against terrorism. Bush has also said that the enhancement of the NSA’s spying program under President Obama has been the best part of the Obama administration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) introduced a bill on April 21 that would reauthorize the Patriot Act through 2020, without any amendments.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) responded to McConnell on the floor of the Senate, on Monday, and said that “extending an illegal program for five and a half years” was not sensible.

“My friend, the Majority Leader, keeps talking about extending the program for five and a half years,” Reid sad. “How can you reauthorize something that’s illegal? You can’t. You shouldn’t.”

 

Civil Liberties, Editor’s Pick, Edward Snowden, Featured, Government Accountability, Government Corruption, Privacy, Technology

Federal Appeals Court Ruling: NSA Data Collection Is Illegal

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A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the indiscriminate collection of phone data, conducted quietly by the National Security Agency before it was exposed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, is illegal.

A three-judge panel from the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the NSA’s program broadly collecting phone records of Americans “exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized.”

The ruling, written by Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch, states that the text of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which the government claimed authorizes bulk metadata collection, “cannot bear the weight the government asks us to assign to it, and that it does not authorize the telephone metadata program.”

The text of the entire ruling is available here.

The ruling was written following an appeal from the plaintiffs, including the ACLU, who had filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the collection and claimed violation of privacy. The appeal followed a dismissal by U.S. District Judge William Pauley in December 2013.

The court’s decision avoided the issue regarding the program’s constitutionality.

Section 215 of the Patriot Act is set to expire on June 1st; The House Judiciary Committee approved the USA Freedom Act on April 30th, which claims to end bulk data collection. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced a bill earlier in April that would extend Section 215 for five more years.