Intelligence & Surveillance
Just Security’s expert authors provide legal and policy analysis of intelligence and surveillance activities, focusing on their impact on national security and on civil liberties and privacy rights, and their oversight by Congress and the courts.
Highlights:
AI and the Commercial Data Loophole
The Pentagon’s new deals to deploy commercial LLMs on its classified networks provide it with a powerful surveillance capability that could be turned on Americans.
Authoritarians Keep Telling Us What They Fear. We Should Listen.
Research shows that, more than military strikes or sanctions, authoritarians fear support for independent media, anti-censorship tech, and civil society.
An Initial Readout of Trump’s Election-Interference Speech
An intelligence official on what the declassified material shows—and does not show—about foreign threats and the president’s allegation of an intelligence community cover-up.
AI and Warrantless Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
The use of LLMs for foreign intelligence surveillance erodes the rules put in place to safeguard Americans' civil liberties.
Vetting Foreign AI Talent: Security Without Exclusion
With risk-based personnel vetting practices, U.S. AI labs can keep recruiting the world’s best researchers while safeguarding national security.
Fencing with Fourth Amendment: Unpacking the Supreme Court’s Chatrie Decision
Chatrie stands as an important but narrow reaffirmation of the Supreme Court’s determination not to let technology overwhelm all privacy expectations in the digital age.
1,841 Articles
When Warning Loses to Permission: Iran, Trump, and the Misapplied Label of “Intelligence Failure”
The failure point, at each stage, was not the intelligence community's analysis. It was the president’s decision-making.
Seeking Justice the Day After SCOTUS Killed the Alien Tort Statute
As surely as day follows night, survivors will continue their quest for justice and accountability. The Supreme Court’s decision marks the end of an era, but a new dawn awaits.
Why Interpol’s Member Nations Should Reject Its New Privileges and Immunities Agreement
The accord would make it easier for autocrats to abuse Interpol’s famous Red Notices and other mechanisms to persecute those seeking refuge abroad from repression at home.
A Year Later: The Stakes of Ordering Military Personnel to Police American Streets
One year since Trump sent the National Guard to LA, a new report warns military deployments for domestic policing produce escalation, disillusionment, and politicization.
China’s Global ‘Concierge Services’ to Strengthen Fellow Authoritarians
China's intrusive military, economic, and diplomatic aid to Russia, Iran, and others spreads autocratic practices such as secrecy, censorship, surveillance, and corruption.
The Acting DNI and the Intelligence Office Trump Wants
Bill Pulte’s appointment as Acting Director of National Intelligence suggests that ODNI may now be serving a more political function than advising the president.
How the Domestic Terrorist Label Endangers Rights and Drives Extremist Violence
Prepared congressional testimony for a Senate hearing that was postponed.
A Mid-Life Crisis for Senate Intelligence?
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, prompting reflection on lessons learned and potential new directions.
Just Security’s Artificial Intelligence Archive
Just Security's collection of 100+ articles analyzing the implications of AI for society, democracy, human rights, and warfare.
The U.S. Shouldn’t Lose Sight of the Real Terrorist Threats
As the Trump administration portrays far-left activists and drug cartels as major terrorist threats, the most dangerous foes are plotting.
The Oral Argument in Cisco
SCOTUS oral arguments on aiding and abetting liability for US companies that facilitate atrocities abroad highlighted cross-cutting legal views amongst the Justices
Fool’s Gold: Speaker Johnson’s Section 702 proposal would place no limits on backdoor searches
"Members can recognize the Johnson proposal for what it is: a transparent attempt to preserve the status quo rather than answer the bipartisan calls for needed reform."