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14 Stories

July 2008
- Maryland Cops Spied on Peaceniks
  
  Baltimore Sun | Jul 18, 08 4:25 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Groups opposing the death penalty and the war in Iraq were infiltrated and spied on by undercover Maryland State Police officers, according to police logs obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union. Some activists were placed on terrorist and drug trafficking databases with no evidence they were involved in any illegal activity, reports the Baltimore Sun . More »
  
  Tags
  
  surveillance • First Amendment • domestic surveillance • American Civil Liberties Union • terrorists
- Senate passes FISA, 69-28
  
  Associated Press | Jul 9, 08 2:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Senate approved a bill today overhauling the rules on secret US government eavesdropping and granting immunity to telephone companies that helped it listen in after 9/11. The so-called FISA bill passed by a large margin of 69-28. The upper house also voted against three amendments that would have watered down, delayed, or stripped away the immunity provision. More »
  
  Tags
  
  George W. Bush • Senate • warrantless wiretapping • FISA • domestic surveillance • telecom immunity
June 2008
- Telecoms Gain Immunity From Wiretap Suits
  
  New York Times | Jun 20, 08 8:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Yesterday's Congressional deal on warrantless wiretapping will wipe out some 40 pending lawsuits against phone companies that took part in the Bush administration's eavesdropping scheme, ending 5 months of Democratic resistance to giving the telcos immunity for their actions. In what the New York Times calls to the biggest change to surveillance law in 30 years, telecoms will receive protection from lawsuits so long as a court determines that the government asked them to allow the tap. More »
  
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  Bush administration • warrantless wiretapping • domestic surveillance • eavesdropping • wiretapping bill
- Big Brother Sees Washington
  
  Los Angeles Times | Jun 16, 08 1:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - If you plan to go outdoors in Washington, DC, comb your hair first, because someone's probably going to see you. The capital is ramping up a video surveillance system that puts most others in the entire world to shame, the LA Times reports. Unsurprisingly, the 5,625-camera network has captured the attention of privacy and civil-liberties advocates, and they're not happy. More »
  
  Tags
  
  terrorism • Washington DC • Department of Homeland Security • surveillance • ACLU • domestic surveillance • camera • CCTV footage
- US Firms Complicit as China Fortifies Police State
  
  Rolling Stone | Jun 2, 08 5:28 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Free Tibet protests 3 months ago allowed China to road-test a new security network before the summer Olympics, Naomi Klein writes in Rolling Stone . Under the so-called “Golden Shield,” China is now installing closed-circuit cameras nationwide linked to facial recognition and other biometric software—technology from big-name US firms like IBM, Honeywell, and General Electric. More »
  
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  China • War on Terror • homeland security • surveillance • Communism • domestic surveillance • security cameras • facial recognition technology • police state
May 2008
- Government's Spy Powers Up, But Terror Arrests Down
  
  Los Angeles Times | May 12, 08 11:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Big Brother is watching … but hasn’t found much, the Los Angeles Times reports. Despite vastly increased domestic spying activities, terrorism prosecutions have plummeted 50% since 2002; last year alone saw a 19% drop, despite a 9% increase in eavesdropping warrants. The Bush administration, meanwhile, is pushing for even greater surveillance powers, and says the decrease in prosecutions doesn’t mean much. More »
  
  Tags
  
  terrorism • FBI • War on Terror • warrantless wiretapping • counterterrorism • FISA • domestic surveillance • domestic spying
March 2008
- The Software That Ruined Eliot Spitzer
  
  MIT Technology Review | Mar 19, 08 3:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The banks were watching Eliot Spitzer—and they’re watching all of us, too. These days, all large banks and most small ones are equipped with anti-money laundering software, Technology Review explains, which tracks even the most mundane transactions of every customer. Moves that don’t conform to a pattern—like Spitzer’s three $5,000 deposits—get flagged. More »
  
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  Eliot Spitzer • sex scandal • bank • prostitution ring • money laundering • domestic surveillance • structuring
December 2007
- Spy Satellite Charter May Calm Privacy Fears
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 20, 07 6:57 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - A federal satellite-surveillance program will move one step closer to reality this week with the expected release of its new charter, the Wall Street Journal reports. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who is spearheading the project, will also reveal plans for a $15 billion program to protect the country’s Internet infrastructure. Both programs have been under fire for their potential compromise of privacy. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Congress • Internet security • Michael Chertoff • domestic surveillance • satellite images
November 2007
- Court Sides With Bush on Wiretapping
  
  Los Angeles Times | Nov 16, 07 4:57 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program cleared a big legal hurdle today when a federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit challenging the program on the grounds of national security. The court, considered one of the most liberal in the country, cited the "state secrets" privilege in its ruling against an Islamic charity with ties to Al-Qaeda. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Bush administration • warrantless wiretapping • national security • FISA • domestic surveillance • US Circuit Court of Appeals
- Congress Torn on Telecom Immunity
  
  ZDNet | Nov 16, 07 7:48 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Congress is conflicted over proposed immunity laws that would retroactively protect telecoms from suits alleging they illegally handed the government information on calls. The Senate Intelligence Committee endorsed immunity 13-2 last month, but the Judiciary Committee left the immunity section out of the document it approved yesterday. The House passed its version of the bill 227-189 last night without immunity. More »
  
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  Senate • warrantless wiretapping • Patrick Leahy • Senate Judiciary Committee • telecom • domestic surveillance • Senate Intelligence Committee • domestic intelligence
- Expect Less Privacy, Intelligence Official Says
  
  Associated Press | Nov 11, 07 3:40 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Americans need to redefine their idea of privacy, Deputy Director of National Intelligence Donald Kerr said today, as Congress reviewed an August FISA revision that allows warrantless eavesdropping. “Protecting anonymity isn't a fight that can be won,” Kerr says, arguing that, after giving information away on MySpace, or to “some green-card holder at an ISP,” people shouldn’t worry about government surveillance. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Congress • domestic surveillance • Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
September 2007
- Traveling? Uncle Sam is Watching
  
  Washington Post | Sep 22, 07 3:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Feds are stockpiling data on millions of Americans as they travel, the Washington Post reports. Civil liberties activists charge Homeland Security with violating the Privacy Act, saying that travel partners, hotel bookings and reading material should not be in the Feds’ database. But Michael Chertoff claims that the data helps unravel terrorist plots and avoid "inconvenient screening of low-risk travelers." More »
  
  Tags
  
  Department of Homeland Security • homeland security • domestic surveillance
- Big Brother Making Strides in Technology
  
  BBC | Sep 16, 07 5:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Top researchers are developing new surveillance technology, the BBC reports - including "gait DNA" to identify a person by their walk and advanced spy drones that can fly overhead for years. The Pentagon plans to continue its tech supremacy, which includes inventing the Internet in the 1970s and satellite navigation in the 1990s. What's next in spy tech? "I'd prefer not to say," says a Pentagon researcher. More »
  
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  Great Britain • United States • Pentagon • homeland security • surveillance • domestic surveillance
July 2007
- Appeals Court Won't Rule on Domestic Spying
  
  New York Times | Jul 6, 07 5:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Although it raises a "cascade of serious questions," a federal appeals court will not hear a case about the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program because the plaintiffs can't prove they've suffered direct harm. In a 2-1 decision, the Sixth Circuit court dismissed the case, brought by the ACLU and several other parties, without addressing its merits, the Times reports. More »
  
  Tags
  
  US Supreme Court • warrantless wiretapping • ACLU • domestic surveillance • NSA