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.
1,805 Articles

A Way Forward on Section 702 Queries
Five suggestions for improving accountability, transparency and understanding.

United States v. Microsoft: Why the Government Should Win the Statutory Interpretation Argument
In United States v. Microsoft, the U.S. Supreme Court will determine the geographic scope of Section 2703 of the Stored Communications Act (SCA), which allows the government to…

Just Security Podcast: Mueller Indicts Russia’s Election Meddling Team
Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday charged 13 Russian nationals and three Russian organizations with conspiracy to defraud the United States, among other charges, in connection…

Microsoft Ireland: Extraterritoriality Step Zero
United States v. Microsoft is a fascinating case because it appears at the cross-roads of so many different areas of the law—the Fourth Amendment, criminal law, data privacy,…

The Parties in U.S. v. Microsoft Are Misinterpreting the Stored Communications Act’s Warrant Authority
United States v. Microsoft comes to the court in stark terms. The case involves a search warrant demanding that Microsoft turn over stored emails from a server in Ireland. That…

Introducing Just Security’s Symposium on United States v. Microsoft
Just Security is pleased to announce the launch of an online symposium on United States v. Microsoft, which will be argued at the U.S. Supreme Court on February 27. The question…

The Age of Unregulated Social Media Is Over
In the United States, discussion of regulating technology companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter is still relatively rare, and considered remarkable when it occurs. But…

Let’s Leave “Crisis” and “Emergency” For the Real Thing
Samantha Vinograd, who served on President Barack Obama’s National Security Council and as deputy U.S. Treasury attaché to Iraq during the Bush Administration, has recently…

Episode 59 of the National Security Law Podcast: Share the Cookies
We don’t lack for topics this week! In today’s episode, Professor Chesney and I eat a number of cookies while talking about the following: Rachel Brand steps down at DOJ. …

Left Out of the Party on Cloud Nine: A Response to Jennifer Daskal
A new bill meant to address cross-border access to data is not a cause for celebration. It fails to include fundamental safeguards to protect consumer's rights. The CLOUD Act would…

Why the White House “System” for Security Clearances is an Intelligence Emergency
Former Bush and Obama official explains what exactly the risks are in having so many White House officials serve under long-term interim security clearances. She looks at the downstream…

It is up to House Intel Committee, not Trump, whether to release Democratic memo on the Page FISA application
News stories and headlines are saying things like, "Trump Blocks Release of Memo Rebutting Republican Claims” (New York Times)--but that's not accurate. The House Intelligence…