Civil Liberties
1,361 Articles
What Did the USA Freedom Act Actually Amend?
There has been a lot of ink spilled here and elsewhere about the USA Freedom Act over the last several weeks. Its privacy protections. Its alterations to the government’s surveillance…
Sunsets Need Sunshine: What We Can Learn from the USA Freedom Act
This afternoon, Congress, for the first time since 9/11, reined in national security surveillance authorities. It’s a historic moment, and a great victory for civil liberties,…
(Unadulterated) USA Freedom Act to become law [UPDATED with vote tally]
The Senate today decisively rejected each of the proposed amendments to the House-passed USA Freedom Act (see roll call votes here). It then approved the bill by a vote of 67-32 (with…
Rand Paul and Surveillance Reform, Part II
My post from yesterday about how Rand Paul hijacked the surveillance reform debate provoked a series of interesting responses both via e-mail and on Twitter, including a note from…
The Symbolic Sunset & What’s Next for the USA Freedom Act
Because the gods of traffic metrics are stern taskmasters, you’ll likely read a lot of headlines today about “the expiration of the Patriot Act,” possibly paired…
Chris Soghoian on What’s Wrong With the Debate on Section 215
It’s great that the sunset of Section 215 has reignited the debate about mass surveillance in the United States, but all the focus on this one provision, more specifically on…
How Rand Paul Hijacked Surveillance Reform
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories…
The Patriot Act’s Sunset Recess
The Senate entered its Memorial Day recess without passing either a Patriot Act extension or a reform bill along the lines of the Freedom Act. Amid intense congressional wrangling…
The Queen’s Speech and the UK Government’s Legislative Agenda
The State Opening of Parliament took place in the UK yesterday. The focus of this event is the Queen’s Speech (full text here). This is important because it unveils the list…
Scaremongering about the Patriot Act Sunset
The Capitol Dome. Image Credit: Architect of the Capitol. In a last-ditch effort to scare lawmakers into preserving unpopular and much-abused surveillance authorities, the Senate…
Sen. Paul’s Great Surveillance ‘Filibuster’ and What to Expect Next
Senator Rand Paul, joined by Senator Wyden and other surveillance reform advocates, as well as five members of the House of Representatives, spent much of last night on the Senate…
Transcript: FBI Director Says Authors of Encryption Letter Are Uninformed or Not Fair-Minded
Earlier today, FBI Director James Comey implied that a broad coalition of technology companies, trade associations, civil society groups, and security experts were either uninformed…