electronic surveillance laws

11 Stories

Judge: No, Your Cellphone Can't Be Used to Track You

First time a federal judge has thrown out evidence culled thanks to 'stingray' device

(Newser) - A surveillance device that "tricks" cellphones into revealing their location has been a civil rights concern since it debuted. Now, for the first time, a federal judge agrees that using such a tool to ID a suspect's home without a warrant is an "unreasonable" violation of the...

Snowden, John Oliver Explain NSA Spying in Terms of Dirty Pics

HBO host traveled to Russia to meet with whistleblower

(Newser) - Not long ago, Edward Snowden's NSA leaks were the focus of vast media attention. But two years later, "it seems like we've kind of forgotten to have a debate over the content of what Snowden leaked," John Oliver tells his HBO audience, showing them a series...

Tech Rivals Unite to Nag World About Spying

Google, Microsoft lead charge

(Newser) - What's big enough to bring together such competitors as Google and Yahoo, Microsoft and Apple, Facebook and Twitter, plus AOL and LinkedIn for good measure? The NSA spying drama. Those companies are publicly asking the world's governments to limit such spying, and have detailed their ideas on a...

FBI Pushes for Easier Online Snooping

White House expected to back surveillance expansion

(Newser) - In a shift expected to spark a major debate on Internet freedom, the White House is leaning toward granting the FBI's wish to make it easier to eavesdrop on online communications, insiders tell the New York Times . The FBI, which argues that advances in technology are causing its ability...

New NSA Spy Center Will Target Every Email and Phone Call

National Security Agency plan was banned by Congress years ago

(Newser) - Looks like Congress can't stop the NSA from monitoring every nook and cranny of our lives after all. In an explosive feature in Wired , James Bamford reveals that the National Security Agency has revived a program called "Total Information Awareness," which aims to collect and sift through...

Mukasey: Now's No Time to Weaken Patriot Act
 Mukasey: Now's No Time
to Weaken Patriot Act
OPINION

Mukasey: Now's No Time to Weaken Patriot Act

Terror arrests show that national security needs trump privacy worries

(Newser) - The arrests last week of Najibullah Zazi and other terror suspects should make lawmakers think twice about making intelligence-gathering more difficult for those trying to keep America safe from terrorist attacks, writes Michael Mukasey. Congressional Democrats are considering imposing new requirements on Patriot Act provisions when they come up for...

Yoo: Wiretaps Were Legal and Necessary
Yoo: Wiretaps Were Legal and Necessary
OPINION

Yoo: Wiretaps Were Legal and Necessary

President had right to violate 'obsolete' FISA, Bush lawyer writes

(Newser) - Last week the inspectors general of the Justice Department, CIA, and other agencies suggested the Bush administration violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, singling out lawyer John Yoo for memos justifying warrantless wiretapping. Yoo defends himself today in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, writing that FISA was "an obsolete...

NYPD Clashes With Justice on Surveillance

Cops say feds blunt anti-terror efforts; AG testy in series of letters

(Newser) - The Department of Justice has firmly rejected efforts by the New York Police Department to relax restrictions on eavesdropping, triggering a war of words between the agencies’ heads, the New York Times reports. The NYPD wants broader latitude for electronic surveillance, and less red tape for its requests, but Justice...

Bush Chides House Dems for Law Expiration

Eavesdropping measure expires at midnight

(Newser) - With a law that expands the government's power to eavesdrop due to expire at midnight, President Bush scolded Congress today for sitting idly by and allowing it to happen. Bush said Congress' failure to act could cause the US to “lose a vital lead that could prevent an attack,...

Travelers Rage Over Seized Laptops
Travelers Rage Over Seized Laptops

Travelers Rage Over Seized Laptops

Government equates computers with bags; civil-liberties groups disagree

(Newser) - US border agents tell travelers there’s no difference between a laptop and a suitcase; both are fair game for searches. People crossing into the US have found their electronics confiscated, and their data copied, the Washington Post reports, all without explanation. “The government is going well beyond its...

Bush State of Union to Focus on Economy

Will stress need for recession-buster measures

(Newser) - During his final State of the Union address tonight, President Bush isn't expected to announce any dramatic new policy initiatives—but will emphasize the need for government action to ward off a recession. The speech, entitled “Trust and Empower,” will call on Congress to permanently extend his $1....

11 Stories