Domestic Surveillance
291 Articles

“Fired” Member of U.S. Privacy Oversight Board Discusses What He Considers at Stake
"The risks to U.S. persons, as well as non-U.S. persons, from the misuse, abuse, and exfiltration of data are quite substantial."

Expand, Don’t Dismantle, America’s Privacy Watchdog
Strengthening independent oversight of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board would provide crucial accountability and transparency.

What Just Happened: What Trump’s Hobbling of the Privacy Oversight Board Portends for Exercise of Surveillance Powers
A “small” story about the removal of the three Democrats on the Private and Civil Liberties Board (PCLOB) is ominous.

Congress Must Heed Koh’s Call to Surface Secret Law
Ensuring that any secret law-making in the executive branch gets disinfecting sunlight is uniquely important because of its potential to give legal cover for overbroad, unaccountable,…

The Year(s) of Section 702 Reform, Part VI: (Another) Looming Deadline
Congress once again has an opportunity — and an obligation — to enact much-needed surveillance reforms to protect Americans’ privacy while ensuring that intelligence agencies…

Concealing Surveillance: The Government’s Disappearing Section 702 Notices
The impending sunset of FISA Section 702 gives Congress an opportunity to examine how it is working in practice and ensure sweeping reform.

The Government’s Section 702 Playbook Doesn’t Work Anymore
Imposing robust safeguards for searches of Americans' communications in the FISA Section 702 program should be an easy path to preserving the program's intelligence value when…

Changes to UK Surveillance Regime May Violate International Law
Proposed changes to UK domestic surveillance laws raise significant human rights concerns.

The Year of Section 702’s Reauthorization: A Reply on “Back Door” Searches
There are targeted, sensible reforms regarding use of Section 702-acquired information by the FBI for non-national security investigations that would avoid throwing the baby out…

The Use of Biometric Technologies for Counter-terrorism Purposes in a Human Rights Vacuum
CTED's "best practices" on biometrics miss a key dimension: international human rights law guidance.

20 Years After the Patriot Act, America Must End Secret Law
Of the many abuses that sprung from the Patriot Act’s toxic soil, the most pernicious and enduring is the growth of secret laws. The insistence that the government must not only…

Rethinking Surveillance on the 20th Anniversary of the Patriot Act
20 years ago, Congress enacted the PATRIOT Act. It's time to move on from that outmoded model of surveillance.