Surveillance
697 Articles
Digital Free for All Part Deux: European Commission Proposal on E-Evidence
The European Commission has released a proposal to enable EU-member states’ law enforcement authorities to access digital information regardless of where that data is stored.…
The Intel Community’s Annual Transparency Report Raises More Questions Than It Answers
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence's new mandatory report, summarizing certain intelligence agencies’ surveillance activities in 2017, is one of the most important…
The DNC Lawsuit and First Amendment Sensitivities
The First Amendment generally bars civil or criminal liability for publication of truthful material about a matter of public concern. That is true even in the case of stolen information.…
Cambridge Analytica, Big Data and China
As a researcher into China’s mass surveillance systems, I watch the revelations about the murky practices of the data marketing firm Cambridge Analytica and the debates about…
How to Move the Battle Lines in the Crypto-Wars
Get ready for another round of the crypto-wars. A recent report in the New York Times indicates that the Justice Department has been quietly discussing with researchers ways to…
Somewhat Improved, the CLOUD Act Still Poses a Threat to Privacy and Human Rights
Above: President Donald Trump gestures to the $1.3 trillion spending bill passed by Congress early Friday. The president just signed a 2,232 page omnibus bill to fund the government…
Congress Should Place More Limits on Cellphone Location Tracking After Carpenter
This spring, the United States Supreme Court will issue a ruling in the landmark case of Carpenter v. United States, deciding whether the government requires a warrant to continuously…
Privacy and Civil Liberties under the CLOUD Act: A Response
[Cross-Posted at Lawfare] In a post last week, Neema Singh Guliani of the ACLU and Naureen Shah of Amnesty International disagreed with our earlier arguments as to “Why the CLOUD…
DHS’ Constant Vetting Initiative: a Muslim-Ban by Algorithm
Above: President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Late last week, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) wrote to the Department of Homeland Security, urging it…
Why An Encryption Backdoor for Just the “Good Guys” Won’t Work
Recently, U.S. law enforcement officials have re-energized their push for a technical means to bypass encryption. But seeking to undermine encryption only looks backward instead…
Symposium Recap: We Need the Cloud Act To Save Us & What Bill Dodge Got Right
Arguments in the Microsoft Ireland case are now less than a week away. Despite the desires of many (including me) that Congress move quickly to pass the CLOUD Act – and thereby…
Microsoft (Ireland) and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure
Microsoft (Ireland) raises a difficult policy question about when and how U.S. law enforcement may access cross-border data. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is seemingly set to…