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May 15 15 12:28 PM
LAST week a federal appeals court panel ruled that the NSA's indiscriminate hoovering of phone-call metadata, first revealed by the leaks of Edward Snowden, is not authorised by the Patriot Act. The pertinent section of the anti-terror bill, Section 215, is set to expire on June 1st, so the 2nd Circuit's ruling comes at a opportune time for congressional opponents of the NSA's bulk data-collection programme. "How can you reauthorise something that’s illegal?” asked Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader. "You can’t. You shouldn’t". On May 13th the House overwhelmingly approved legislation to end the government’s bulk collection of phone records. The Senate will soon debate the matter. This development also clarifies the stances of several GOP presidential hopefuls, and the stakes of the primaries. Marco Rubio, a Florida senator, and Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, hawkishly favour just the sort of reauthorisation of the Patriot Act's current provisions that Mr Reid opposes. Jeb Bush, formerly the governor of Florida, is on the record as an enthusiast of the NSA's phone metadata sweeps, and presumably wants them to continue. Meanwhile Rand Paul, a Kentucky senator, seeks to burnish his civil-libertarian credentials with a promise to filibuster any attempt at clean reauthorisation. Ted Cruz, the junior senator from Texas, has staked out a middle ground by co-sponsoring the "USA Freedom Act", which would end the bulk collection of phone records while extending other parts of the bill cherished by the security establishment. More important than campaign-trail jockeying, however, is the substance of the decision. It would seem to vindicate Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor whose controversial leaks brought the formerly secret programme to light. According to the court, not only does the "staggering" quantity of information harvested by the NSA exceed the Patriot Act's statutory ambit, but the government's argument in defence of bulk-collection "defies any limiting principle". Moreover, the court says, the programme could not have been "legislatively ratified", given the fact that only a few members of congress, and none of the public, were even aware of its existence prior to Mr Snowden's leaks, much less the details concerning its "staggering" scope.
LAST week a federal appeals court panel ruled that the NSA's indiscriminate hoovering of phone-call metadata, first revealed by the leaks of Edward Snowden, is not authorised by the Patriot Act. The pertinent section of the anti-terror bill, Section 215, is set to expire on June 1st, so the 2nd Circuit's ruling comes at a opportune time for congressional opponents of the NSA's bulk data-collection programme. "How can you reauthorise something that’s illegal?” asked Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader. "You can’t. You shouldn’t". On May 13th the House overwhelmingly approved legislation to end the government’s bulk collection of phone records. The Senate will soon debate the matter.
This development also clarifies the stances of several GOP presidential hopefuls, and the stakes of the primaries. Marco Rubio, a Florida senator, and Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, hawkishly favour just the sort of reauthorisation of the Patriot Act's current provisions that Mr Reid opposes. Jeb Bush, formerly the governor of Florida, is on the record as an enthusiast of the NSA's phone metadata sweeps, and presumably wants them to continue. Meanwhile Rand Paul, a Kentucky senator, seeks to burnish his civil-libertarian credentials with a promise to filibuster any attempt at clean reauthorisation. Ted Cruz, the junior senator from Texas, has staked out a middle ground by co-sponsoring the "USA Freedom Act", which would end the bulk collection of phone records while extending other parts of the bill cherished by the security establishment.
More important than campaign-trail jockeying, however, is the substance of the decision. It would seem to vindicate Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor whose controversial leaks brought the formerly secret programme to light. According to the court, not only does the "staggering" quantity of information harvested by the NSA exceed the Patriot Act's statutory ambit, but the government's argument in defence of bulk-collection "defies any limiting principle". Moreover, the court says, the programme could not have been "legislatively ratified", given the fact that only a few members of congress, and none of the public, were even aware of its existence prior to Mr Snowden's leaks, much less the details concerning its "staggering" scope.
Read more @ http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/05/nsa-and-courts
The House voted by a wide margin Wednesday to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' phone records and replace it with a system to search the data held by telephone companies on a case-by-case basis. The 338-to-88 vote set the stage for a Senate showdown just weeks before the Patriot Act provisions authorizing the program are due to expire. If the House bill becomes law, it will represent one of the most significant changes stemming from the unauthorized disclosures of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. But many Senate Republicans don't like the measure, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has introduced a separate version that would keep the program as is. Yet, he also faces opposition from within his party and has said he is open to compromise. President Barack Obama supports the House legislation, known as the USA Freedom Act, which is in line with a proposal he made last March. The House passed a similar bill last year, but it failed in the Senate. Most House members would rather see the Patriot Act provisions expire altogether than re-authorize NSA bulk collection, said Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee. "I think the Senate is ultimately going to pass something like the USA Freedom Act," he said. The issue, which exploded into public view two years ago, has implications for the 2016 presidential contest, with Republican candidates staking out different positions.
The House voted by a wide margin Wednesday to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' phone records and replace it with a system to search the data held by telephone companies on a case-by-case basis.
The 338-to-88 vote set the stage for a Senate showdown just weeks before the Patriot Act provisions authorizing the program are due to expire.
If the House bill becomes law, it will represent one of the most significant changes stemming from the unauthorized disclosures of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. But many Senate Republicans don't like the measure, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has introduced a separate version that would keep the program as is. Yet, he also faces opposition from within his party and has said he is open to compromise.
President Barack Obama supports the House legislation, known as the USA Freedom Act, which is in line with a proposal he made last March. The House passed a similar bill last year, but it failed in the Senate.
Most House members would rather see the Patriot Act provisions expire altogether than re-authorize NSA bulk collection, said Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee. "I think the Senate is ultimately going to pass something like the USA Freedom Act," he said.
The issue, which exploded into public view two years ago, has implications for the 2016 presidential contest, with Republican candidates staking out different positions.
Read more @ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/house-vote-ending-bulk-collection-us-phone-records-31020828
WASHINGTON (AP) — After the House's lopsided bipartisan vote to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' phone records, the Senate is under considerable pressure to pass a similar measure. If it doesn't, lawmakers risk letting the authority to collect the records expire June 1, along with other important counterterrorism provisions. The House bill, known as the USA Freedom Act, would replace bulk collection with a system to search the data held by telephone companies on a case-by-case basis. It passed 338-88. In the Senate, however, the legislation faces a 60-vote hurdle to begin debate. A similar bill failed to do so last year after passing the House by a wide margin. And the Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, has expressed his opposition to the current House bill.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After the House's lopsided bipartisan vote to end the National Security Agency's bulk collection of Americans' phone records, the Senate is under considerable pressure to pass a similar measure. If it doesn't, lawmakers risk letting the authority to collect the records expire June 1, along with other important counterterrorism provisions.
The House bill, known as the USA Freedom Act, would replace bulk collection with a system to search the data held by telephone companies on a case-by-case basis. It passed 338-88.
In the Senate, however, the legislation faces a 60-vote hurdle to begin debate. A similar bill failed to do so last year after passing the House by a wide margin. And the Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, has expressed his opposition to the current House bill.
Read more @ http://www.postbulletin.com/news/politics/senate-under-pressure-after-house-votes-to-end-nsa-program/article_6618be17-1fb5-5b26-b165-b94696546889.html
Democrats and Republicans in the House linked arms Wednesday and voted to cancel the NSA’s phone-snooping program and end all bulk data collection, approving a rewrite of the Patriot Act just weeks before the law’s key provisions are due to expire. The 338-88 vote sends the bill to the Senate, where the issue is far more divisive, and where Republican leaders are defending the existing Patriot Act, trying to create an all-or-nothing choice that could force a full extension ahead of the June 1 deadline. In the House, however, bipartisanship reigned as lawmakers said it was time to dismantle some of the surveillance programs run by both the Bush and Obama administrations — and the National Security Agency’s phone-snooping program in particular.
Democrats and Republicans in the House linked arms Wednesday and voted to cancel the NSA’s phone-snooping program and end all bulk data collection, approving a rewrite of the Patriot Act just weeks before the law’s key provisions are due to expire.
The 338-88 vote sends the bill to the Senate, where the issue is far more divisive, and where Republican leaders are defending the existing Patriot Act, trying to create an all-or-nothing choice that could force a full extension ahead of the June 1 deadline.
In the House, however, bipartisanship reigned as lawmakers said it was time to dismantle some of the surveillance programs run by both the Bush and Obama administrations — and the National Security Agency’s phone-snooping program in particular.
Read more @ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/may/13/nsa-phone-snooping-rejected-house-patriot-act-rewr/
Read more @ http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/05/14/us-votes-end-mass-data-collection
Read more @ http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/05/14/usa-nsa-legislation-idINKBN0NZ23U20150514
It was supposed to be the declawing of America’s biggest spy service. But “what no one wants to say out loud is that this is a big win for the NSA,” one former top spook says. Civil libertarians and privacy advocates were applauding yesterday after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation to stop the National Security Agency from collecting Americans’ phone records. But they’d best not break out the bubbly. The really big winner here is the NSA. Over at its headquarters in Ft. Meade, Md., intelligence officials are high-fiving, because they know things could have turned out much worse. “What no one wants to say out loud is that this is a big win for the NSA, and a huge nothing burger for the privacy community,” said a former senior intelligence official, one of half a dozen who have spoken to The Daily Beast about the phone records program and efforts to change it. Here’s the dirty little secret that many spooks are loathe to utter publicly, but have been admitting in private for the past two years: The program, which was exposed in documents leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013, is more trouble than it’s worth.
It was supposed to be the declawing of America’s biggest spy service. But “what no one wants to say out loud is that this is a big win for the NSA,” one former top spook says.
Civil libertarians and privacy advocates were applauding yesterday after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation to stop the National Security Agency from collecting Americans’ phone records. But they’d best not break out the bubbly.
The really big winner here is the NSA. Over at its headquarters in Ft. Meade, Md., intelligence officials are high-fiving, because they know things could have turned out much worse.
“What no one wants to say out loud is that this is a big win for the NSA, and a huge nothing burger for the privacy community,” said a former senior intelligence official, one of half a dozen who have spoken to The Daily Beast about the phone records program and efforts to change it.
Here’s the dirty little secret that many spooks are loathe to utter publicly, but have been admitting in private for the past two years: The program, which was exposed in documents leaked by Edward Snowden in 2013, is more trouble than it’s worth.
Read more @ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/05/14/nsa-loves-the-nothing-burger-spying-reform-bill.html
Read more @ http://www.itpro.co.uk/public-sector/24609/us-house-votes-to-stop-nsa-s-mass-surveillance
A week after a federal appeals court ruled that the National Security Agency's bulk data collection program was unconstitutional, the Obama administration is urging Congress to approve legislation that would put new limitations on the agency's power to track the private phone calls and emails of millions of Americans. The USA Freedom Act, a version of which passed the House on Wednesday and which the Senate is expected to vote on soon, would rein in some of the most serious abuses of the massive government spying program while continuing to allow the agency to target the communications of suspected terrorist networks. We urge senators to approve the legislation. The vote comes as lawmakers face a June 1 deadline for reauthorizing the Patriot Act, which Congress initially passed in 2001 following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The NSA, with the blessing of a secret intelligence court, used the law to authorize the collection of information about virtually all the electronic messages Americans send or receive in order to uncover suspicious patterns of activity that might be related to terrorism. It wasn't until 2013, when former NSA contract worker Edward Snowden leaked a trove of classified documents to the press, that the full extent of the agency's intrusion into the private lives of ordinary Americans was revealed. The USA Freedom Act being considered by Congress would change a key provision of the current law, Section 215, which authorizes the NSA to collect the so-called "metadata" — times, duration and location — of phone and email messages anywhere in the world if it deems them "relevant" to a terrorism investigation. This month a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York rejected that standard, ruling that if it accepted the NSA's broad interpretation of "relevancy" literally everything could be viewed as related to the war on terror in some fashion and thus the right to privacy would be meaningless.
A week after a federal appeals court ruled that the National Security Agency's bulk data collection program was unconstitutional, the Obama administration is urging Congress to approve legislation that would put new limitations on the agency's power to track the private phone calls and emails of millions of Americans. The USA Freedom Act, a version of which passed the House on Wednesday and which the Senate is expected to vote on soon, would rein in some of the most serious abuses of the massive government spying program while continuing to allow the agency to target the communications of suspected terrorist networks. We urge senators to approve the legislation.
The USA Freedom Act being considered by Congress would change a key provision of the current law, Section 215, which authorizes the NSA to collect the so-called "metadata" — times, duration and location — of phone and email messages anywhere in the world if it deems them "relevant" to a terrorism investigation. This month a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New York rejected that standard, ruling that if it accepted the NSA's broad interpretation of "relevancy" literally everything could be viewed as related to the war on terror in some fashion and thus the right to privacy would be meaningless.
Read more @ http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-obama-nsa-20150514-story.html
Germany's BND intelligence agency sends enormous amounts of phone and text data to the US National Security Agency (NSA) each month, Die Zeit Online reported, adding yet another layer to the spy scandal embroiling the German government. About a fifth of all metadata gathered by the BND each month, or some 1.3 billion pieces go to the NSA, the website reported on Tuesday, citing confidential German intelligence files it obtained. German media earlier revealed that BND was collecting 220 million metadata pieces per day, which amounted to an estimated 6.6 billion a month. The metadata of phone calls and text messages includes contact details and times of activity, but not the actual content. According to the leaked BND files, the metadata, which was sent to the NSA, was mostly that of foreign communication taking place in crisis regions. "It is questionable as to whether this practice is covered by German laws," Die Zeit wrote, citing a BND official responsible for data protection. Reuters said that a BND spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. Last week, German intelligence sources said the agency has now halted its internet surveillance for the NSA. The spying cooperation between the two agencies has rattled the German government, with critics accusing Chancellor Angela Merkel's staff of green-lighting the BND to help the NSA spy on European officials and firms.
Germany's BND intelligence agency sends enormous amounts of phone and text data to the US National Security Agency (NSA) each month, Die Zeit Online reported, adding yet another layer to the spy scandal embroiling the German government.
About a fifth of all metadata gathered by the BND each month, or some 1.3 billion pieces go to the NSA, the website reported on Tuesday, citing confidential German intelligence files it obtained.
German media earlier revealed that BND was collecting 220 million metadata pieces per day, which amounted to an estimated 6.6 billion a month.
The metadata of phone calls and text messages includes contact details and times of activity, but not the actual content. According to the leaked BND files, the metadata, which was sent to the NSA, was mostly that of foreign communication taking place in crisis regions.
"It is questionable as to whether this practice is covered by German laws," Die Zeit wrote, citing a BND official responsible for data protection.
Reuters said that a BND spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. Last week, German intelligence sources said the agency has now halted its internet surveillance for the NSA.
The spying cooperation between the two agencies has rattled the German government, with critics accusing Chancellor Angela Merkel's staff of green-lighting the BND to help the NSA spy on European officials and firms.
Reddit may be looking to turn its AMAs into a video series, but the good-old text versions can still yield a lot of information. Two Google executives took to the platform today, answering questions about Google’s approach to cybersecurity in light of the recent federal rulings against the NSA’s bulk collection of telephone metadata. Richard Salgado is Google’s director for law enforcement and information security, while David Lieber is Google’s senior privacy policy counsel. Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, the legal recourse the NSA used to justify its metadata surveillance, is set to expire on June 1, so the duo took to the platform to support a new bill – the USA Freedom Act – that would limit surveillance to case-by-case situations. The Q&A resulted in some interesting tidbits about Google and cybersecurity. Notably, Salgado flat-out denied that any backdoors had been built into Google service, or any sort of “surveillance portals” government officials could access.
Reddit may be looking to turn its AMAs into a video series, but the good-old text versions can still yield a lot of information.
Two Google executives took to the platform today, answering questions about Google’s approach to cybersecurity in light of the recent federal rulings against the NSA’s bulk collection of telephone metadata. Richard Salgado is Google’s director for law enforcement and information security, while David Lieber is Google’s senior privacy policy counsel.
Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, the legal recourse the NSA used to justify its metadata surveillance, is set to expire on June 1, so the duo took to the platform to support a new bill – the USA Freedom Act – that would limit surveillance to case-by-case situations.
The Q&A resulted in some interesting tidbits about Google and cybersecurity. Notably, Salgado flat-out denied that any backdoors had been built into Google service, or any sort of “surveillance portals” government officials could access.
Congress is about to decide the future of surveillance, and the US government's bulk data collection program is on the line. The House of Representatives has approved a bill that would end the National Security Agency's mass data collection, which is currently allowed under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Rather than allowing the government to simply hold such records on its own, the bill would have them request needed information from private phone companies like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate. Michael Morrell, the CIA's acting director from 2012 to 2013, said in an interview that the shift is an important check against potential abuse. (Questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity and space.) Michael Morrell: The government should be required to get a court order every time they want to query the data. That's what I think is the good compromise here. There haven't been any privacy or civil liberty abuses by the NSA in this program, but the government holding this data holds the potential for abuse, and there's been plenty of times in our history when the government has abused its power. So that's what led us to say let's keep the program going but let's take the data out of the hands of the government and force a little bit more oversight in terms of allowing the government to query the data. Marco Werman: There's the case in San Francisco where plaintiffs sued the Justice Department for taking their metadata from AT&T — not to mention people who check in on former girlfriends. So isn't that abuse?
Congress is about to decide the future of surveillance, and the US government's bulk data collection program is on the line.
The House of Representatives has approved a bill that would end the National Security Agency's mass data collection, which is currently allowed under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Rather than allowing the government to simply hold such records on its own, the bill would have them request needed information from private phone companies like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate.
Michael Morrell, the CIA's acting director from 2012 to 2013, said in an interview that the shift is an important check against potential abuse. (Questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity and space.)
Michael Morrell: The government should be required to get a court order every time they want to query the data. That's what I think is the good compromise here. There haven't been any privacy or civil liberty abuses by the NSA in this program, but the government holding this data holds the potential for abuse, and there's been plenty of times in our history when the government has abused its power. So that's what led us to say let's keep the program going but let's take the data out of the hands of the government and force a little bit more oversight in terms of allowing the government to query the data.
Marco Werman: There's the case in San Francisco where plaintiffs sued the Justice Department for taking their metadata from AT&T — not to mention people who check in on former girlfriends. So isn't that abuse?
Ever since former NSA analyst Edward Snowden detailed a massive government system to harvest American’s phone records, a showdown has been expected in the courts and in Congress over the issue.
Power Play - Critics of the country's spy agencies are hopeful a review of the agencies will lead to change. They are particularly pleased that the review will look at whether the definition of 'private communication' in the legislation governing the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) is satisfactory. Under the current definition, communications are not deemed private if people have an expectation their personal communications might be monitored. Ironically, after the disclosures by American whistleblower Edward Snowden, most people might now expect their electronic communications are intercepted. Under the definition in the law, critics argue that opens the way for the GCSB to do exactly what people expect it is doing. This is despite denials it is engaging in mass surveillance. But again there is no clear definition of what mass surveillance means, and Prime Minister John Key has always been careful to say he is advised the GCSB acts within the law. Acting within the law then goes back to the definition of private communication, and a debate over whether it leaves room for the bureau to lawfully monitor what most people would reasonably deem private communications.
Power Play - Critics of the country's spy agencies are hopeful a review of the agencies will lead to change.
They are particularly pleased that the review will look at whether the definition of 'private communication' in the legislation governing the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) is satisfactory.
Under the current definition, communications are not deemed private if people have an expectation their personal communications might be monitored.
Ironically, after the disclosures by American whistleblower Edward Snowden, most people might now expect their electronic communications are intercepted. Under the definition in the law, critics argue that opens the way for the GCSB to do exactly what people expect it is doing.
This is despite denials it is engaging in mass surveillance.
But again there is no clear definition of what mass surveillance means, and Prime Minister John Key has always been careful to say he is advised the GCSB acts within the law.
Acting within the law then goes back to the definition of private communication, and a debate over whether it leaves room for the bureau to lawfully monitor what most people would reasonably deem private communications.
Sen. Bob Corker says he was 'shocked' to learn at a classified briefing Tuesday how little data the NSA is actually collecting. That revelation could be a game changer in the Senate, he says. A bill that reforms the federal government’s controversial surveillance program that collects Americans’ phone records is expected to comfortably pass the House on Wednesday. But a “potential game changer” that would increase Senate opposition to the bill may have just been triggered, said Sen. Bob Corker (R) of Tennessee, at a Monitor breakfast on Wednesday.
Press Freedom Groups Denounce NSA Spying On Al Jazeera Bureau Chief
“This is the reality under which we live. Government agencies are relatively autonomous and attempts to control them are ludicrous." NEW YORK – Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan doesn’t deny that he’s had contact with terrorist groups. In fact, it would have been rather difficult to do his job otherwise. But the fact that Zaidan is a respected investigative journalist and the Islamabad bureau chief for Al Jazeera didn’t seem to faze the U.S. National Security Agency, which not only spied on him, but went as far as to brand him a likely member of Al Qaeda and put him on a watch list. The revelations emerged late last week as part of the thousands of classified documents leaked by former NSA employee Edward Snowden. “Given that Pakistan has been consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, the news of Zaidan’s surveillance further adds to the fear, restricting press freedom,” said Furhan Hussain, manager of the Digital Rights and Freedom of Expression programme at Bytes for All, a Pakistani human rights group. “Equally alarming, in this case, is the fact that by compromising the information of respected journalists, such spying also weakens the safety of their sources and media networks,” he told IPS. “Zaidan’s communications intercept took place through the invasive gathering and analysis of his metadata, a technique which has been frequently responsible for drone-led non-transparent persecution of hundreds of people. “While it is often claimed that the state of Pakistan has failed to effectively protest against these violations, it may also be important to raise questions about the possible role of the state in facilitating the NSA to access vast amounts of data of those residing within its borders, in the context of its third-party SIGINT partnership.” Other press freedom groups said the case was just one more in a long-running pattern of civil liberties abuses.
“This is the reality under which we live. Government agencies are relatively autonomous and attempts to control them are ludicrous."
NEW YORK – Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan doesn’t deny that he’s had contact with terrorist groups. In fact, it would have been rather difficult to do his job otherwise.
But the fact that Zaidan is a respected investigative journalist and the Islamabad bureau chief for Al Jazeera didn’t seem to faze the U.S. National Security Agency, which not only spied on him, but went as far as to brand him a likely member of Al Qaeda and put him on a watch list.
The revelations emerged late last week as part of the thousands of classified documents leaked by former NSA employee Edward Snowden.
“Given that Pakistan has been consistently ranked as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, the news of Zaidan’s surveillance further adds to the fear, restricting press freedom,” said Furhan Hussain, manager of the Digital Rights and Freedom of Expression programme at Bytes for All, a Pakistani human rights group.
“Equally alarming, in this case, is the fact that by compromising the information of respected journalists, such spying also weakens the safety of their sources and media networks,” he told IPS. “Zaidan’s communications intercept took place through the invasive gathering and analysis of his metadata, a technique which has been frequently responsible for drone-led non-transparent persecution of hundreds of people.
“While it is often claimed that the state of Pakistan has failed to effectively protest against these violations, it may also be important to raise questions about the possible role of the state in facilitating the NSA to access vast amounts of data of those residing within its borders, in the context of its third-party SIGINT partnership.”
Other press freedom groups said the case was just one more in a long-running pattern of civil liberties abuses.
The verdict is in. Edward Snowden is a hero. And no, not in that hyper-nationalist, everyone-in-uniform, pandering sort of way. U.S. Sen Dick Durbin joined two colleagues Tuesday and sponsored legislation to finally end the National Security Agency's eavesdrop-on-everyone campaign, a response to this past week's damning appellate court ruling. Many observers say the USA Freedom Act, which would instead require cell phone carriers to maintain metadata for a while, doesn't go far enough to protect Americans from the dragnet. But Durbin's bill is at least a stride toward ending more than a decade of paranoia-fueled erosion of basic liberty. It's only happening thanks to a man who gave up a six-figure job, downloaded millions of documents and skipped the country. He took the stolen property to The Guardian, which published story after story about just how far the U.S. government was taking surveillance of its own citizens. The pro-snooping hawks labeled him a traitor destined for the firing squad. They were wrong. The court ruling and Washington's reaction have vindicated Snowden. So why is he still trapped in some faux exile in Russia? It's curious that Senate sponsors Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Durbin aren't screaming from the rooftops for Snowden's victorious return, complete with a parade usually reserved for champion athletes.
The verdict is in. Edward Snowden is a hero. And no, not in that hyper-nationalist, everyone-in-uniform, pandering sort of way.
U.S. Sen Dick Durbin joined two colleagues Tuesday and sponsored legislation to finally end the National Security Agency's eavesdrop-on-everyone campaign, a response to this past week's damning appellate court ruling. Many observers say the USA Freedom Act, which would instead require cell phone carriers to maintain metadata for a while, doesn't go far enough to protect Americans from the dragnet. But Durbin's bill is at least a stride toward ending more than a decade of paranoia-fueled erosion of basic liberty.
It's only happening thanks to a man who gave up a six-figure job, downloaded millions of documents and skipped the country. He took the stolen property to The Guardian, which published story after story about just how far the U.S. government was taking surveillance of its own citizens. The pro-snooping hawks labeled him a traitor destined for the firing squad. They were wrong.
The court ruling and Washington's reaction have vindicated Snowden. So why is he still trapped in some faux exile in Russia?
It's curious that Senate sponsors Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Durbin aren't screaming from the rooftops for Snowden's victorious return, complete with a parade usually reserved for champion athletes.
Just as Congress was debating whether to reauthorize Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which the government has used to collect data on every telephone call we make, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously struck it down in ACLU v. Clapper. Congress has four days left in its current session to decide whether to reauthorize Section 215, amend it or let it die a natural death on June 1, 2015 (the date on which it will sunset if not reauthorized). Section 215 of the Patriot Act The controversial section authorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to issue orders mandating phone companies, internet service providers, banks, credit card companies etc. to provide their records to the government if the FISC finds "there are reasonable grounds to believe" the records "sought are relevant to an authorized investigation" aimed at protecting the country "against international terrorism." Thanks to Edward Snowden, we know that the FISC used Section 215 to issue an order mandating Verizon to provide "on an ongoing daily basis ... all call detail records or 'telephony metadata' ... for communications (i) between the United States and abroad; or (ii) wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls." The National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting metadata on our phone communications, including the identities of the caller and the person called, the phone numbers of both parties, as well as the date, time, duration and unique identifiers of the communication.
Just as Congress was debating whether to reauthorize Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which the government has used to collect data on every telephone call we make, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously struck it down in ACLU v. Clapper. Congress has four days left in its current session to decide whether to reauthorize Section 215, amend it or let it die a natural death on June 1, 2015 (the date on which it will sunset if not reauthorized).
Section 215 of the Patriot Act
The controversial section authorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to issue orders mandating phone companies, internet service providers, banks, credit card companies etc. to provide their records to the government if the FISC finds "there are reasonable grounds to believe" the records "sought are relevant to an authorized investigation" aimed at protecting the country "against international terrorism."
Thanks to Edward Snowden, we know that the FISC used Section 215 to issue an order mandating Verizon to provide "on an ongoing daily basis ... all call detail records or 'telephony metadata' ... for communications (i) between the United States and abroad; or (ii) wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls." The National Security Agency (NSA) has been collecting metadata on our phone communications, including the identities of the caller and the person called, the phone numbers of both parties, as well as the date, time, duration and unique identifiers of the communication.
Edward Snowden, the indicted government whistleblower, says the National Security Agency (NSA) should no longer be authorized to continue its mass collection of phone metadata kept by telecommunication companies under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Snowden, who could be seen on a large screen video, spoke at an event co-sponsored by the Center for Information Technology Policy, the Program in Law and Public Affairs and the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. Snowden was charged on two accounts of violating the Espionage Act and is currently under temporary asylum in Russia.
Edward Snowden, the indicted government whistleblower, says the National Security Agency (NSA) should no longer be authorized to continue its mass collection of phone metadata kept by telecommunication companies under Section 215 of the Patriot Act.
Snowden, who could be seen on a large screen video, spoke at an event co-sponsored by the Center for Information Technology Policy, the Program in Law and Public Affairs and the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. Snowden was charged on two accounts of violating the Espionage Act and is currently under temporary asylum in Russia.
The right to privacy is firmly ingrained in our national consciousness. To Americans, it's as fundamental to our Constitution and way of life as freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the right to have "your burger, your way." Revelations about the government's use of spying technology has eroded Americans' belief that their privacy rights are being protected, however. Specifically, disclosures from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden showed that the U.S. government has been engaging in widespread surveillance of the public, including reading Americans' email, monitoring our Internet use, and recording our phone calls despite first assuring us that it was only "for quality and training purposes." Fallout from these revelations has been swift, including calls for the repeal of the Patriot Act, demands for increased government transparency and an end to warrantless surveillance of American citizens. Or, failing that, maybe just that the NSA use all that data to retrieve our mistakenly deleted email, sift through our photos to find that cute one of the kids with their cousins at the beach last summer, or tell us where the hell our car keys disappeared to. Government representatives have defended the NSA's bulk data collection program, arguing that widespread surveillance has helped thwart numerous terrorist plots here in the U.S. When asked how, precisely, all the spying has prevented alleged attacks, federal officials have typically hemmed and hawed before offering up the standard, "That information is classified," and then adding, "Although, come to think of it, that is just the type of question a terrorist would ask ..." The great irony in the whole privacy debate is that the government brought the attention and criticism on itself so unnecessarily. The truth is, the American people are more than happy to share all sorts of private information as long as we get to do so while wasting time on the Internet.
The right to privacy is firmly ingrained in our national consciousness. To Americans, it's as fundamental to our Constitution and way of life as freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, and the right to have "your burger, your way."
Revelations about the government's use of spying technology has eroded Americans' belief that their privacy rights are being protected, however. Specifically, disclosures from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden showed that the U.S. government has been engaging in widespread surveillance of the public, including reading Americans' email, monitoring our Internet use, and recording our phone calls despite first assuring us that it was only "for quality and training purposes."
Fallout from these revelations has been swift, including calls for the repeal of the Patriot Act, demands for increased government transparency and an end to warrantless surveillance of American citizens. Or, failing that, maybe just that the NSA use all that data to retrieve our mistakenly deleted email, sift through our photos to find that cute one of the kids with their cousins at the beach last summer, or tell us where the hell our car keys disappeared to.
Government representatives have defended the NSA's bulk data collection program, arguing that widespread surveillance has helped thwart numerous terrorist plots here in the U.S. When asked how, precisely, all the spying has prevented alleged attacks, federal officials have typically hemmed and hawed before offering up the standard, "That information is classified," and then adding, "Although, come to think of it, that is just the type of question a terrorist would ask ..."
The great irony in the whole privacy debate is that the government brought the attention and criticism on itself so unnecessarily. The truth is, the American people are more than happy to share all sorts of private information as long as we get to do so while wasting time on the Internet.
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
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