Civil Liberties
169 Articles
Cruz & Rubio’s Confusing USA Freedom Exchange
A few reporters have asked me about a slightly odd exchange between GOP presidential hopefuls Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz at last night’s primary debate, so I thought it might…
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité … Sécurité
Within a few hours of the terrorist attacks on Paris which left 130 dead and some 350 injured, President François Hollande declared a nationwide state of emergency in accordance…
Remember Why We Have the Fourth Amendment
The Paris attacks have fueled a debate over surveillance on both sides of the Atlantic that, while not new, has reached a level of hysteria that I have not witnessed since the…
The Course of Least Resistance: Ignoring the Lessons of History in Responding to ISIS
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…
Power Wars Symposium: Where Did Things Go Wrong? Three Key Moments That Shaped Obama’s Failed Guantánamo Policy
Editor’s Note: This is the latest entry in a symposium Just Security is hosting in conjunction with the recent release of Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency by…
What the Third Circuit Said in Hassan v. City of New York
In Hassan v. City of New York, the Third Circuit yesterday emphatically overturned a New Jersey district court, which had dismissed a challenge to the New York City Police Department’s…
Armed Drones and the Influence of Big Business on Police Surveillance Technology
On Wednesday, the Daily Beast reported that the North Dakota state legislature recently passed a bill allowing law enforcement drones to carry less-than-lethal weapons. In theory,…
It’s Time to End the “Debate” on Encryption Backdoors
Yesterday, on Lawfare, FBI Director James Comey laid out his concern that the growing adoption of strong encryption technologies will frustrate law enforcement’s ability to conduct…
The Symbolic Sunset & What’s Next for the USA Freedom Act
Because the gods of traffic metrics are stern taskmasters, you’ll likely read a lot of headlines today about “the expiration of the Patriot Act,” possibly paired…
Is Edward Snowden Engaged in Civil Disobedience? —A Response to Glennon
In his recent post, “Is Snowden Obliged to Accept Punishment?,” Michael Glennon takes on Edward Snowden’s critics who argue that the former contractor’s unwillingness to…
Don’t Close Your Eyes to Surveillance Dangers: A Response to Richard Epstein
Richard Epstein’s office at the Hoover Institution is less than a mile from mine at Stanford Law School, and I’ve had the pleasure to hear Richard speak to the faculty on a…
Security, Uncertainty, and the National Security Administration: The President Should Defend, Not Revise, Current NSA Procedures
The question of national security and its relationship to individual privacy has always provoked a challenge for persons with strong libertarian inclinations, who rightly embrace…