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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Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) talk strategy before a news conference about their proposed reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill January 16, 2018 in Washington, DC. The senators are part of a bipartisan group that supports legislation they say would protect Americans from foreign threats while preserving their privacy.

A Chance to Fix FISA

"When Congress does finally take up the issue again, this most recent compromise bill will be the baseline for further improvements—and improvements are sorely needed."
Trump speaks during a briefing on the coronavirus pandemic, in the press briefing room of the White House on March 24, 2020 in Washington, DC. Pence stands behind him. Neither wear face masks.

Keeping an Eye on the Civil Liberties Impact of Trump’s Coronavirus Response

Now is the time to be vigilant for attempts to leverage the crisis to obtain or retain powers that unnecessarily infringe on rights and liberties.
Two Government Technology Agency (GovTech) staff members demonstrate Singapore's new contact-tracing smarthphone app called TraceTogether, as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Singapore on March 20, 2020.

COVID-19 Surveillance Must Not Be Used as an Excuse to Entrench Surveillance

While the pandemic requires strong responses, we need to ensure that States do not normalize oppressive surveillance and undermine human rights more widely, including the right…
AG Barr looks at Trump

Barr Is Dismantling Charges Filed by Mueller

Another curious filing by the Department of Justice should not be lost amid news about COVID-19. In yet another reversal in a case initiated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller,…
Copies of the New York Times sit for sale in a rack July 23, 2008 in New York City.

The Espionage Act Reform Bill Addresses Key Press Concerns

On March 5, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) introduced sorely needed legislation to reform the Espionage Act.
Classified stamp

The Legally Troubling Treatment of COVID-19 Meetings as Classified

I represented the government until late 2018, and I've got serious concerns, writes former Deputy Director of Appellate Staff of Department of Justice's Civil Division.
The headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on a foggy morning on December 9, 2019 in Washington, DC.

A Response to “End the FISA”: Why It’s a Good Law and Sound Policy

Since the public release of a redacted version of a Report on Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation (the “Horowitz Report”),…
Binary code in blue on a blue and black background

The Defense Department’s Measured Take on International Law in Cyberspace

A close reading of the Defense Department's statement on cyber by top expert, comparing it to positions of Australia, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom and others.
A collage of a racially diverse group of people's faces. One face has a grid laid over it to symbolize facial recognition technology.

Law Enforcement’s Facial Recognition Law-lessness: Comparing European and US Approaches

"There’s a grave threat to individual liberty, privacy, and racial justice. A balance needs to be struck. But it will not be struck by continuing to act lawlessly, which is to…
A laptop screen shows the Facebook page for Facebook.

An Ambitious Reading of Facebook’s Content Regulation White Paper

How might we move toward accountability in the face of irreconcilable clashes between Rights-era and Public Health-era values, particularly given the serious practical and civil…

Why the 2020 Election Will Be A Mess Part II: Beyond Russian Disinformation

As anger in the U.S. grows, the threat of political violence also builds, providing the Russian government another opportunity to divide the country.
A 3-D rendering of the country Georgia

Russian Cyber Attacks Against Georgia, Public Attributions and Sovereignty in Cyberspace

"The attack on Georgia shows the opportunity costs of states not firmly grounding their reactions in the language of international law."
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