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

Episode 42 of the National Security Law Podcast: The Magic Bullet Travel Ban(d)
In this week’s episode, Bobby Chesney and I start with a close look at Smith v. Trump, a case that seeks a judicial ruling on whether the Islamic State really falls within…

Closing Section 702’s Front-Door Search Loophole: A Critical Protection for Americans
As the December 31st expiration date for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) approaches, the debate over reauthorization is in full swing. Most of the…

NYU Law Forum: “National Security: The Role of Senior Advisers in the White House”
On October 18, the Latham & Watkins Forum at NYU Law presented discussion on “National Security: The Role of Senior Advisers in the White House.” Just Security…
Recap of Recent Pieces on Just Security (Oct. 14-20)
ISIS, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen Amarnath Amarasingam, Jade Parker, and Charlie Winter, ISIS’s Vegas Claim Tells Us More about the Group Than About the Attacker Nadim Houry, What…

The Rhetoric of “Responsible Encryption”
Last week, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gave a speech about encryption that prompted a considerable amount of well-deserved blowback. His speech rehashed a number of…

Sessions Changes his Story on Russian Contacts in Senate Testimony
On Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions changed his story yet again about what he discussed with Russian officials during the 2016 election. While he initially denied having…

Responsibility and the Encryption Debate: A Response to DAG Rosenstein
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Last week, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gave a speech about encryption at the U.S. Naval Academy, solidifying the Trump administration’s…

AG Sessions’ Shifting and False Statements to Congress on Russia
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for an oversight hearing. This is the first time Sessions will come before the Senate…

Surveillance “Reform”: The Fourth Amendment’s Long, Slow, Goodbye
Over 16 years after the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent repeated passage or renewal of draconian “temporary” but “emergency” domestic surveillance laws in response, it’s…

Exporting the Rendition Project: From the U.S. to Central Asia?
Although it’s been over a decade, the rendition planes that transferred suspects to CIA black sites still cast long, dark shadows over human rights and the rule of law, and their…

Protecting a Free and Open Internet: My testimony before the House Commerce Committee
The free movement of data across borders is critical to economic growth, has benefits for data security, and promotes privacy, speech, and associational rights. Yet, increasingly…

Terrorist Financing: A Backgrounder
Ed. note. This post is the latest in our series on the U.S. Supreme Court case Jesner. v. Arab Bank, a case that is slated to resolve the question of whether corporations can…