Civil Liberties
1,368 Articles
Has the CIA Asked the FISC to Restart Its Bulk Collection Program?
There’s a curious gap in the documents currently posted on the FISC’s public docket — one that suggests the NSA call records program isn’t the only type of bulk collection…
Latest UK Judgment on Post-Snowden Surveillance
On June 22, the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) gave its latest judgment in the post-Snowden surveillance litigation brought by several NGOs against the UK Government…
A New US-UK Data Sharing Treaty?
In a little-noticed piece of news (at least in the US), the UK has been contemplating a new international treaty to enable British authorities to access user data held by US tech…
The FISC’s Newest Opinion: Proof of the Need for an Amicus
In the first public opinion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) since the USA Freedom Act became law, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV ruled that the law revived the…
The Hidden Meaning (Maybe) of the New FISC Opinion
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court released an opinion today, dated June 17, holding that despite the brief lapse of several provisions of the USA Patriot Act, the effect…
Abu Ghraib and the Perversion of the Political Question Doctrine
I’ve written extensively about the important and complex legal questions raised by state-law tort suits against private military contractors, many of which have arisen in…
Major Second Circuit Ruling Sides With Immigrants Subjected to Post-9/11 Roundup
I’ve written at some length in the past about judicial hostility to damages suits brought by victims of allegedly unlawful post-9/11 counterterrorism policies. I may have…
Why al Bahlul is Rightly Decided
Over at Lawfare, I have a pair of longer posts following up on Friday’s quick-and-dirty summary of the D.C. Circuit’s ruling in al Bahlul v. United States, in which…
UN’s David Kaye on Encryption, Anonymity, and Human Rights
In his first report as UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye fired a shot across the bow of governments…
What al Bahlul Says, and What It Means
It’s going to take some time to fully work through the lengthy opinions handed down by the D.C. Circuit this morning in al Bahlul v. United States. But at the risk of…
Closing Guantánamo Will Help Combat Terrorist Propaganda
It’s no secret that extremist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL use the American prison at Guantánamo Bay as a recruiting tool and rallying cry against the United States. The topic…
Why the Latest Ridiculous Guantánamo Amendment is Almost Certainly Unconstitutional
Later today, the House of Representatives appears set to vote on the following amendment to the Department of Defense appropriations bill, sponsored by Missouri Congressman Jason…