Civil Liberties
1,361 Articles
Huawei Hacking is a Security Scandal
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that people who are neither naïve nor who hate freedom can reasonably disagree with Edward Lucas and his post from this morning…
The So-Called Huawei Scandal and the Snowden Operation
We should spy on China. And Russia. And Iran. And plenty of other countries too. They are our political, diplomatic and economic competitors and enemies. And they spy on us. If…
Is the ODNI Approach to Secrecy and Transparency Evolving?
We flagged this yesterday afternoon on Just Security’s Twitter account, but nevertheless, it is helpful to include a reference here on the pages of the blog as well. Yesterday,…
PCLOB Hearing on Section 702 Authorities
Today, the PLCOB is holding a hearing on programs authorized under Section 702 of FISA. The hearing can be watched live on C-SPAN2. Written testimony of the witnesses is linked…
Coverage of the U.S. Proceedings Before the Human Rights Committee Available
A video archive of the United States proceedings before the Human Rights Committee in Geneva is now available here. The Committee released its summary of the proceedings, which…
DiFi vs CIA
More than a few folks have commented on the irony of Sen. Dianne Feinstein—perhaps the most vigorous defender of NSA’s controversial surveillance programs—flipping into…
How President Obama can fulfill his promise to end bulk collection of telephone metadata, while preserving intelligence capabilities
On January 17, President Obama promised to end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of metadata on Americans’ phone calls under “section 215” (which is really…
The PCLOB Report and the Need for Executive Branch Constitutional Enforcement
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board has been both praised and criticized for the conclusions of its recent report on NSA bulk metadata collection: that the program…
ACLU Takes Phone-Records Challenge to Appeals Court
The ACLU has just filed its opening brief in the Second Circuit in its challenge to the NSA’s phone-records program. The brief—the first appellate brief to be filed in any…
Who Watches the Watchers?–A Rejoinder to Steve Vladeck
I am grateful for Steve’s careful response to my post, “Democratic Platitudes,” which examined his original post, “Does Espionage Porn Make Us Stronger?” Having benefited…
Optic Nerve – A Digital Mugbook & the Questions It Raises
“It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic,…
Chris Sprigman and Barry Friedman on ReplyAll Discussing Chris’ Just Security Post
On Monday of this week, Chris Sprigman had an excellent guest post on Just Security regarding compliance and lawfulness at the NSA. Today, Chris and Barry Friedman, other frequent…