Bill Intended to Rein In NSA Spying Retains Significant Powers
Modifications to the USA Freedom Act made on behalf of the National Security Agency permit officials to warrantlessly monitor foreign targets in the U.S. and track certain domestic individuals.
PeacockArmageddon (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Modifications to the USA Freedom Act made on behalf of the National Security Agency permit officials to warrantlessly monitor foreign targets in the U.S. and track certain domestic individuals.
The Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman writes:
According to congressional sources, the architects of the USA Freedom Act, a bill that seeks to stop the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records, have agreed to grant the surveillance giant temporary abilities to continue monitoring foreign targets who enter the US while agents seek domestic warrants; and to permit the agency to do the same for domestic targets for whom it has a probable-cause warrant who subsequently travel overseas.
Both additions, discussed for weeks but intensified in the past several days, were described as measures to gain support from pro-surveillance legislators on the House intelligence committee. Another such gesture included in the bill, unrelated to surveillance, would increase the maximum penalty for people lending material support to terrorism from 15 years to 20. The concessions were said to have come on behalf of the NSA, rather than from the NSA itself.
Advocates of the much-delayed USA Freedom Act now expect the bill to be reintroduced on Thursday ahead of a short congressional recess, the culmination of nine weeks of backroom negotiations.
Read more here.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Wait, before you go…If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
"The appetite to use surveillance drones in the domestic environment to collect airborne imagery continues to grow," an internal report states.
On Independence Day, against official claims that mass domestic surveillance is needed to ensure U.S. security, Truthdig reprints the farewell address of the first president of the United States.
Documents published by The Intercept on Monday reveal that a British spy unit purported by officials to be focused on foreign intelligence and counterterrorism -- and notorious for using the “most controversial tactics of surveillance, online propaganda and deceit” -- is heavily focused on political groups and other domestic matters.
In an email message to subscribers, Google supported a proposed update of California telecommunications law, a change that would restrict authorities' ability to look at people's email and other electronic information without a warrant.
The Obama administration asked a federal court to resume the NSA surveillance programs ended by the expiration of parts of the Patriot Act on June 1.
The expiration of certain parts of the Patriot Act and passage of the USA Freedom Act ended authority for several forms of surveillance of U.S. citizens. But the government still has ways of listening to your phone calls.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.