Tag Archives: Bulk Data

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.

Civil Liberties, Featured, Privacy

Federal Judge Pushes To Revive Fight Against NSA Surveillance

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A federal judge expressed interest in advancing a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance program.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon laid out a strategy on Wednesday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lifted his December 2013 injunction blocking the NSA program on Friday.

[RELATED: Federal Court Rules To Uphold Bulk Spying]

The NSA’s massive surveillance program, which collects Americans’ phone records, was ruled illegal in May by a federal appeals court, on the basis that the NSA’s broad collection “exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized.”

During a hearing on Wednesday, Leon encouraged conservative lawyer Larry Klayman, who initially brought the suit against the NSA, to amend his case to include customers of Verizon Business Network Services as well as ask a federal appeals court to dismiss an appeal on the case. Leon also noted the past ruling in which the appeals court found the NSA’s program illegal.

[quote_center]“This court has ruled. This court believes that tens of millions of Americans’ constitutional rights have been — and are being — violated,” Leon said. “If the court finds jurisdiction, I don’t have to write another opinion on the merits… It is written.”[/quote_center]

Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which was used to justify the NSA’s data collection, expired on June 1, and after debate as to whether the U.S. government should have any kind of surveillance program collecting data from innocent Americans, it was replaced by the USA Freedom Act.

Although the USA Freedom Act was presented as a law that would end the NSA’s data collection by putting bulk records into the hands of telephone companies, the Department of Justice filed a request asking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to continue the NSA’s collection for six months.

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

The FISA Court approved the federal government’s request on June 29, reauthorizing NSA data collection through Nov. 29, 2015.

The upcoming due date is one that Leon mentioned during the hearing. He told Klayman that it is critical to move now due to the limited time window between now and November.

“The clock is running and there isn’t much time between now and November 29,” Leon said. “This court believes there are millions and millions of Americans whose constitutional rights have been and are being violated, but the window for action is very small – it’s time to move.”

Civil Liberties, Technology

NSA Pledges To Destroy Archived Metadata ‘As Soon As Possible’

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Federal officials are claiming that after the National Security Agency reaches its six-month deadline and data collection is transferred to private phone companies, as provided by the USA Freedom Act, it will destroy the records of Americans’ metadata that have been archived over the last five years.

A statement released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Monday claimed that in transitioning from the Patriot Act to the USA Freedom Act, the NSA has determined that any metadata collected under the Patriot Act “will cease on November 29, 2015” when the NSA’s bulk collection is supposed to end.

The statement also noted that “solely for data integrity purposes to verify the records produced under the new targeted production authorized by the USA Freedom Act,” the NSA will allow technical personnel to continue to have access to the metadata for three months after the NSA’s collection ends.

The NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ metadata was ruled illegal by a federal appeals court on May 7. The ruling stated that Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which the NSA used as justification for the program, “cannot bear the weight the government asks us to assign to it,” and therefore it “does not authorize the telephone metadata program.”

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

Despite attempts from some members of Congress to extend the Patriot Act as is, Section 215 expired on June 1, and after debate as to whether the U.S. government should have any kind of surveillance program collecting data from innocent Americans, it was replaced by the USA Freedom Act.

While 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, 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.

After the NSA’s program expired on June 1, the Department of Justice submitted a request to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Court, asking the Court to reinstate the NSA’s collection for the next six months, and to ignore the ruling from the Federal Appeal’s Court, which stated that NSA spying is illegal.

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

The statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence acknowledged that the FISA Court approved the Government’s application to resume the Section 215 bulk metadata collection on June 29.

“NSA remains under a continuing legal obligation to preserve its bulk 215 telephony metadata collection until civil litigation regarding the program is resolved, or the relevant courts relieve NSA of such obligations,” the statement claimed. “The telephony metadata preserved solely because of preservation obligations in pending civil litigation will not be used or accessed for any other purpose, and, as soon as possible, NSA will destroy the Section 215 bulk telephony metadata upon expiration of its litigation preservation obligations.”

The Guardian noted that although the NSA’s data collection was initially presented as a way to fight terrorism, and the NSA probed the database “around 300 times a year against phone numbers suspected of being linked to terrorism,” the program was “not considered instrumental in detecting terror plots.”

ACLU staff attorney Alex Abdo told The Intercept that while his organization is “pleased that the NSA intends to purge the call records it has collected illegally,” he is wary that “the devil may be in the details.”

The topic of the NSA’s bulk collection has drawn attention from GOP presidential candidates entering the 2016 election, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul who is against government surveillance altogether; Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker who called for full reauthorization of the Patriot Act; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush who fully supports the NSA’s surveillance program to “keep us safe”; and billionaire mogul Donald Trump who said that Edward Snowden, the man who revealed the NSA’s program in 2013, is a “traitor” and should be killed.

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

White House: Congress Is Playing ‘Russian Roulette’ With The Patriot Act

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In preparation for the possible expiration of certain provisions of the Patriot Act, the Obama administration is urging the Senate to act, and warning of repercussions that might occur if the Act expires altogether.

The Washington Post reported that at a press briefing on Wednesday, a senior administration official likened the fact that the Senate has not passed either an outright extension of the Patriot Act, or the USA Freedom Act, to it playing a game of “national security Russian roulette.”

“What you’re doing essentially is you’re just playing national security Russian roulette,” the official said. “That’s a game that you can play. But we urge Congress not to play that game with these uncontroversial authorities.”

The USA Freedom Act was presented by lawmakers as a way to curb Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which is used by the NSA to justify its bulk collection of Americans’ data. While advocates for the USA Freedom Act claim that it will end the NSA’s bulk data collection, those in opposition to the bill, such as Rep. Justin Amash  (R-Mich.) say that it wouldn’t end the collection; it would only change the channels the government went through to collect Americans’ records.

While the USA Freedom Act was passed in the House of Representatives by an overwhelming vote of 338-88, it failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate, with a 57-42 vote on Friday.

Congress adjourned for a week-long recess early Saturday, leaving the final decision on the future of Section 215 up to a last minute vote when they return on May 31, one day before the section is set to expire.

GOP Presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been the face of the campaign to abolish the NSA’s surveillance program altogether. Paul took to the floor of the Senate for 10 hours and 30 minutes on Wednesday to filibuster the renewal of Section 215, and he was a prominent voice against the act’s extension, when it came to a vote on Friday, fighting back against Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate majority leader, who pushed for an “clean” extension of the bill.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that if the Patriot Act expires altogether, the White House has no “Plan B.”

“The fact is I’m not aware of any ‘Plan B’ that exists or that is currently being contemplated,” Earnest said. “There are significant consequences for the Senate’s failure to act. It would certainly put at great risk these programs and could risk a lapse in some of these important national security capabilities.”

During the recess, the New York Times reported that senior lawmakers are “scrambling this week in rare recess negotiations to agree on a face-saving change to legislation” that would save a form of the NSA’s massive surveillance program.

The Obama administration joined in the campaign to support the USA Freedom Act, with President Obama urging the Senate to pass the Act, just as the House did.

“The House of Representatives did its work and came up with what they called the USA Freedom Act, which strikes an appropriate balance,” Obama said. “Our intelligence communities are confident that they can work with the authorities that are provided in that act passed on a bipartisan basis.”

In addition to the USA Freedom Act being passed on a bipartisan basis, Paul’s stance against it has also been a bipartisan effort. During his time on the Senate Floor speaking out against the Patriot Act, Paul was joined by seven Democrats and three Republicans.

Obama called out the Senate for not passing the USA Freedom Act, and said that the powers that are lost if the Patriot Act expires are ones that could hurt the security of the American people.

“The Senate did not act, and the problem we have now is that those authorities run out at midnight on Sunday,” Obama said. “So, I strongly urge the Senate to work through this recess and make sure that they identify a way to get this done.”

While Obama put emphasis on urging the Senate to act, Paul noted that the NSA’s bulk data collection was recently ruled illegal, and called the President disingenuous, because even though he said wanted to protect civil liberties, he has yet to stop the program.

Investigative journalist Ben Swann explained how section 215 of the Patriot Act is collecting the data of innocent Americans in an episode of Truth in Media:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrY_bmdi-N4