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.
1,846 Articles
UK Investigatory Powers Review: A New Blueprint for Surveillance?
“the importance of clear law, fair procedures, rights compliance and transparency: not just fashionable buzz-words, but the necessary foundation for the trust between government…
No Torture Means No Torture – Why We Need the McCain-Feinstein Anti-Torture Amendment
Do we mean what we say when we ban torture? That has been a question for more than a decade, ever since President George W. Bush, on United Nations International Day in Support…
The (Telephony) Matrix Reloaded
The Obama administration has sought to temporarily relaunch the NSA’s bulk telephone records collection program, which was wound down over recent weeks as its legal foundation,…
The Need for a USA Freedom Technical Corrections Act
In a post on Thursday entitled “What Did the USA FREEDOM Act Actually Amend?,” Megan Graham of Just Security carefully described a huge problem with the USA FREEDOM Act, one…
Chris Soghoian Q+A: The Next Chapter of Surveillance Reform
I recently conducted a wide-ranging Q+A with the ACLU’s chief technologist, Chris Soghoian, on a range of topics, from the “fraudulent” nature of the recent debate over Section…
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…
The apparent end of the “gag orders” for GTMO detainees
Back in February, I explained that the protective orders in two Military Commissions cases had been amended to now permit the defendants and their counsel to speak publicly about…
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…
Mootness and the 215 Challenges
As a nerdy follow-up to the stories about last night’s expiration of section 215, I thought I’d say a quick word about how that denouement will affect the ongoing litigation…