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.

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1,805 Articles
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Data and Democracy: Three Things the Biden-Harris Administration Should Do to Tackle Big Tech

The monetization of personal data poses a direct threat to civil rights and democracy. The good news: the Biden-Harris administration has an opportunity to check this destructive…
Officials from the South Korean Central Election Management Committee and election observers count votes cast of Parliamentary election amid the coronavirus outbreak on April 15, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. Everyone wears a mask properly over their mouth and nose.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: Human Rights Law – Civil and Political Rights

[Editor’s Note: This article is part of a Just Security series, COVID and International Law. All articles in the series can be found here.] States around the world have had…
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How a New Administration—and a New Congress—Can Fix Prepublication Review: A Roadmap for Reform

The new administration, and the new Congress, should act more decisively to reform this broken system.
Members and supporters of The Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture hold a rally to demand Congressional action to stop torture on Capitol Hill March 10, 2008 in Washington, DC. A banner reads, “Torture is un-American.”

On Accountability and the Next Presidency, Starting With the Cabinet

To truly “Build Back Better,” as Biden promised, he must not nominate, appoint, or otherwise hire anyone for his administration who has seriously abused power.
ODNI seal and other intelligence sommunity seals in a line

Getting the T’s and C’s Right: The Lessons of Intelligence Reform

"We have been part of every iteration of the ODNI and have seen the highs and lows, the good and the bad, as the IC has remade itself. We have learned valuable—and painful—lessons..."
The headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on a foggy morning on December 9, 2019 in Washington, DC.

The Future of U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance

Massive warrantless surveillance endangers both constitutional rights and U.S. competitiveness in a global information marketplace. There’s only one solution to these sets of…

Why Trump Should Not Have Access to U.S. Intelligence After January 20

Since 2015, when he first declared he was running for president, Donald Trump has posed a major national security risk, one that the American people will continue to bear well…
Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden delivers remarks about White Nationalism during a campaign press conference on August 7, 2019 in Burlington, Iowa.

A Letter to President-Elect Biden on Restoring Relations with the Intelligence Community

A letter to President-elect Biden on key actions that should be implemented immediately—within days even — after taking office on Jan. 20, 2021.

Good Governance Paper No. 22: Preventing Politicization of the Security Clearance System

Latest in a series of top experts exploring proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government, public integrity, and the rule of law.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a key summit of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on June 1, 2019.

Saudi Arabia’s MBS Served with Extrajudicial Killing Lawsuit – Via WhatsApp

Electronic service of process -- including via social media -- has become an increasingly common practice. Gone are the days of the pizza delivery ruse.
Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on December 7, 2018.

Loyalty Above All: The “Shallow State” of the Trump Administration

A compilation of executive branch positions deprived of competence and expertise, and filled instead with political loyalists.
A poster showing six wanted Russian military intelligent officers is displayed before a news conference at the Department of Justice, on October 19, 2020, in Washington, DC.

The Latest GRU Indictment: A Failed Exercise in Deterrence

On Oct. 19, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment naming six Russian military intelligence officers, members of GRU Unit 74455, also known as “Sandworm.” Peter Machtiger…
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