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
The UK Snooper’s Charter and the Anderson Report on Bulk Powers
In August, the UK’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC, released his “Report of the Bulk Powers Review”. He was asked to undertake the review…
Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform, Part III
In our previous posts, we’ve argued that the NSA is collecting massive amounts of data about US citizens under conditions that have nothing to do with terrorism or national…
Just Security’s Questions for Clinton and Trump
Given the importance of tonight’s prime-time debate between US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we’re again running our list of vital national…
A Broken Playbook: The NYPD Targeted Muslims in Over 95-Percent of Investigations That Broke Surveillance Rules
The NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau consistently broke court-imposed rules governing investigations involving political activity, according to a recent report by the NYPD Inspector…
Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform, Part II
Last week, we argued that the public discussion surrounding two of the government’s most controversial mass surveillance programs – PRISM and Upstream – has not sufficiently…
No More Snowdens? Start by Reforming the House Intelligence Committee
Last Thursday, the House Intelligence Committee (HPSCI) issued a report condemning Edward Snowden and its members unanimously urged President Obama to decline public calls to grant…
Unprecedented and Unlawful: The NSA’s “Upstream” Surveillance
The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) — the statute the government uses to engage in warrantless surveillance of Americans’ international communications — is scheduled to…
Correcting the Record on Section 702: A Prerequisite for Meaningful Surveillance Reform
The legal authority behind the controversial PRISM and Upstream surveillance programs used by the NSA to collect large swaths of private communications from leading Internet companies…
A Response to “The Tech”: Continuing the Vulnerability Equities Process Debate
In my recent Just Security piece, I argued that Aitel and Tait’s suggestions in Lawfare to focus the Vulnerability Equities Process (VEP) more narrowly on strategic intelligence…
Feinstein-Burr 2.0: The Crypto Backdoor Bill Lives On
When it was first released back in April, a “discussion draft” of the Compliance With Court Orders Act sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Richard Burr (R-NC)…
The DC Circuit’s Latest Ruling in Al-Nashiri: Why the Military Commissions Cannot Escape the Taint of CIA Torture
The DC Circuit’s recent ruling in In re Al-Nashiri missed an opportunity to clarify an important question in the current US military commissions: when did the armed conflict…
Supreme Court Grants Temporary Stay in Backpage Senate Subpoena Litigation
I recently wrote about the Senate civil enforcement action seeking to enforce a subpoena of Backpage.com records issued by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI). Backpage…