surveillance

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NSA's Spying Includes Most US Emails That Cross Border

Anything going abroad about foreign targets intercepted

(Newser) - The NSA is poring over pretty much all emails and texts sent across the border by Americans to look for information that might raise red flags, the New York Times reports. The revelation means that the NSA's surveillance of Americans is broader than was previously known: It's not...

Christie No Conservative on Surveillance

Peggy Noonan worried by governor's 'manipulative' approach

(Newser) - At a meeting of major Republican donors, Chris Christie took a firm stand on domestic surveillance—and it's not sitting well with Peggy Noonan. Christie called the debate over the extent of government snooping "esoteric" and "intellectual," slamming the "strain of libertarianism that's going...

Snowden Reveals NSA's 'Widest Reaching System'

X-Keyscore allows analysts to search 'nearly everything a typical user does on the Internet' without warrant

(Newser) - Edward Snowden dropped maybe his biggest bombshell yet today, by pulling back the curtain on the NSA's XKeyscore system, which the agency's training documents boast can collect "nearly everything a typical user does on the Internet." That includes everything from the contents of emails and Facebook...

Court: Feds Can Track Your Location Without a Warrant

But in another case, government says it must admit NSA spying to defendants

(Newser) - The federal government can grab GPS data indicating where you've been directly from your phone carrier without a warrant, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday, saying that the practice was "not per se unconstitutional." Technically, that data is a "business record," meaning...

Why Do Sci-Fi Bad Guys Have Crappy Tech?

Mark Hagerott and Daniel Sarewitz think fiction is doing a bad job warning us about the dystopia around us

(Newser) - Fiction, and especially science fiction, is rife with stories of rebels going on the run and challenging the established order. But that whole narrative "has been rendered implausible by the development of pervasive security technology," argue Mark Hagerott and Daniel Sarewitz at Slate . "Who can go on...

Ex-Judge on FISA Court Points Out Flaw in System

James Robertson says FISA judges need to hear both sides on surveillance issues

(Newser) - The NSA gets legal permission for its broad surveillance programs from the secret court set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. And for the first time, one of the judges that sat on the court is coming forward to criticize the FISA process, reports the Guardian . Retired federal judge...

Snowden: The UK Is Collecting Everything
Snowden: The UK Is Collecting Everything
Interview

Snowden: The UK Is Collecting Everything

'Even the Queen's selfies to the pool boy get logged'

(Newser) - A new Edward Snowden interview hit today, and it's making big waves—especially overseas, thanks to allegations that the NSA is working hand-in-glove with allies around the globe. The interview was conducted anonymously back before Snowden revealed his identity, with Snowden emailing security expert and sort-of WikiLeaks ally Jacob...

NSA Spying Came About Thanks to One Word

America's 'secret supreme court' changed what 'relevant' means

(Newser) - The controversial spying programs that Edward Snowden has revealed can trace their existence to the FISA court's redefinition of one word: "relevant." The Patriot Act allows the FBI to demand records as long as they are believed to be "relevant to an authorized investigation." But...

Lincoln Had a Surveillance State, Too
Lincoln Had a
Surveillance State, Too
OPINION

Lincoln Had a Surveillance State, Too

But it went away after the war: professor

(Newser) - In its day, it was about as high-tech as surveillance got: Abe Lincoln let war secretary Edwin Stanton reroute the nation's telegraph lines through his office in 1862 so he could keep tabs on, and control, the flow of information about the war from generals, journalists, and ordinary citizens,...

France Spies On Its People, Too
 France Spies On Its People, Too 
Report

France Spies On Its People, Too

Newspaper alleges that DGSE keeps massive database of 'who is talking to whom'

(Newser) - Looks like America isn't the only country with a massive surveillance hobby . France is monitoring its people's phone calls, emails and social media activity as well, the Le Monde newspaper reported today, according to Reuters . France's external intelligence agency, the DGSE, intercepts signals from phones and computers...

Obama, Merkel Plan Meeting on US Spying

As EU officials gather to discuss reports

(Newser) - President Obama and Angela Merkel have discussed US spying allegations by phone, the White House says, and they're organizing a meeting between US and German security officials on the issue. "The president assured the chancellor that the United States takes seriously the concerns of our European allies and...

Feds Are Keeping an Eye on Your Snail Mail, Too

USPS has two main tools for law enforcement, says New York Times

(Newser) - Creeped out by all this talk of metadata and Big Brother and the fear that your emails aren't as private as you thought? Well, at least there's good old snail mail, right? Not so much, reports the New York Times . It looks at two programs the US Postal...

Disappointed? Don&#39;t Blame Obama
 Disappointed? 
 Don't Blame 
 Obama 
OPINION

Disappointed? Don't Blame Obama

President was victim of unrealistic expectations: Gideon Rachman

(Newser) - Amid concerns over surveillance and drone attacks, liberals at home and abroad have lately been making their disappointment with President Obama clear. And it's true that "when it comes to foreign policy, Mr. Obama campaigned with the human rights rhetoric of Jimmy Carter but has governed like Henry...

Europe Erupts, Kerry Shrugs: Bugging Allies 'Not Unusual'

Germany warns: 'We are no longer in Cold War'

(Newser) - John Kerry has taken on Edward Snowden's latest claims —that the NSA has bugged EU offices and spied on computer networks. Though Kerry said he didn't know whether the assertions were true, he added, "All I know is that is not unusual for lots of nations,...

More Revelations: Feds Collected Bulk Email Data

Another 'Guardian' story hits, reveals more metadata collection

(Newser) - The revelations about the NSA's surveillance operations just keep coming. The Guardian has yet another piece revealing that the government spent a decade collecting bulk email data, in much the same way it collected bulk cellphone data . As with the cellphone data, the government collected metadata, meaning information on...

NSA Gets to Decide Who&#39;s Foreign
NSA Gets to Decide Who's Foreign

NSA Gets to Decide Who's Foreign

New documents reveal rules on surveillance targets

(Newser) - For weeks, President Obama and other senior officials have touted the special FISA court as a safeguard on NSA surveillance. Well, the Guardian and Washington Post have obtained top-secret documents submitted to and approved by that court that outline the rules and limits placed on the program. How reassuring they...

Obama: I'm Not 'Bush- Cheney Lite'

President refutes charge in Charlie Rose interview

(Newser) - Appearing on Charlie Rose last night, President Obama had a few things to clear up: First, he's not, as Rose put it, "Bush-Cheney lite." "Some people say, 'Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he’s, you know, Dick Cheney,'"...

Snowden: I&#39;m No Spy
 Snowden: I'm No Spy 
Q&A Session

Snowden: I'm No Spy

'I could be in China petting a Phoenix by now'

(Newser) - Edward Snowden held an online Q&A today over at the Guardian , to answer the public's burning questions about his NSA leaks. Here are some of the highlights that caught our eye:
  • Are you a Chinese spy ? "If I were a Chinese spy, why wouldn't I
...

Half of Senate Skips NSA Briefing

Took a long weekend instead

(Newser) - Remember when Obama assured us last week that the government's surveillance programs are safeguarded and members of Congress " have been consistently informed on exactly what we’re doing"? Perhaps he should have added "... so long as they show up." Only 47 out of 100 senators...

Tech Giants to Feds: Let Us Air Our Role in NSA Spying

Google, Facebook urge feds to lift gag orders

(Newser) - Google and other tech giants are far from happy about being seen as willing partners in the NSA's Internet surveillance program and they want the government to lift gag orders so they can show otherwise. Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Yahoo have requested secrecy orders be eased so that they...

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