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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1,846 Articles
Canadian flags line the walkway in front of the Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, October 2, 2017.

Canada Considers Most Far-Reaching Intell Reforms in Decades

The proposed bill strikes a healthy balance between facing up to new cyber-threats and ensuring accountability and oversight.
A demonstrator holds a poster picturing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and a lightened candle during a gathering outside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul, on October 25, 2018.

Intelligence, Ethics and Bureaucracy: The Duty to Warn Jamal Khashoggi

The Knight First Amendment Institute and the Committee to Protect Journalists have obtained "Duty to Warn" documents that shed new light on what a U.S. intelligence officer would…
U.S. Attorney General William Barr leans his head sideways onto his hand as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee May 1, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Barr and Congress: Is the Focus on Criminality Too Narrow?–Five Experts Weigh In

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s questioning of Attorney General William Barr yesterday raises the question of whether Congress, in responding to the findings in Special Counsel…
President John F. Kennedy's murderer Lee Harvey Oswald during a press conference after his arrest in Dallas.

JFK Records Suit Tests CIA Secrecy on Assassination

Morley v. CIA has wound its way through the courts for 16 years, and revealed some juicy nuggets along the way. The plaintiff, who is the biographer of two top CIA operations officers,…
Activists Luis Nolasco, Aki Rose and Josh Rabb hold placards reading "Secure Phones Saves Lives" while gathered in front of the US District Court in Riverside, California, on March 22, 2016, where the Apple v FBI trial was due to take place before its sudden postponement. A television monitor displays the messages of some 20,000 people who have signed an online petition agreeing to oppose the FBI order.

Split Over Compelled Decryption Deepens With Massachusetts Case

Encryption is as omnipresent as computers, tablets, and smartphones. Yet the Supreme Court has not provided guidance on the constitutional implications of compelling a suspect…
Police arrest activists demonstrating against anti-immigration policies near the US-Mexico border fence at Imperial beach in San Diego county, US on December 10, 2018.

CBP’s New Social Media Surveillance: A Threat to Free Speech and Privacy

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's efforts to map out the networks and activities of American activists and journalists through link analysis and social media monitoring pose…
U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) speaks as Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and other democrats listen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol January 4, 2019 in Washington, DC.

A Caution on Congressional Subpoenas and “Constitutional Crisis”

Last week, as part of its ongoing investigation into White House security clearance procedures, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform subpoenaed former White House personnel…
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford and Patrick M. Shanahan, Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense, are seen before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC.

New DoD Policy on Amends Needs to Address Transparency Gap

New information from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) reveals a previously unrecognized transparency gap in the U.S. military’s efforts to acknowledge and address civilian…

The (Redacted) Mueller Report: First Takes from the Experts

A roundup of leading experts' views on the publicly released — and redacted — Mueller report.
Russian journalists watch a TV showing U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the press center of Presidential Palace on July 16, 2018 in Helsinki, Finland.

Is Trump a Russian Agent?: Explaining Terms of Art and Examining the Facts

Former member of the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service explains why CIA would never try to recruit someone with Donald Trump's profile, and what may also give the Kremlin pause…
U.S. Attorney General nominee William Barr testifies at his confirmation hearing as his image is shown on a television monitor behind him January 15, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Barr’s Redaction Process, cont’d

Attorney General William Barr testified at length last week, in the House and the Senate, about his ongoing process of redacting the Mueller Report in anticipation of sharing it…
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir delivers a speech to the nation on February 22, 2019, at the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum.

Julian Assange and Omar al-Bashir: What Comes Next for Two Global Fugitives?

Yesterday was a breathtaking one for global criminal justice. First, British police arrested Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and then, just hours later, the…
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