With the rise of modern technologies, the scope and scale of government surveillance has exploded. The use of digital communication has made communication more efficient, but also much more vulnerable. Governments, meanwhile, are increasing their capacity to exploit these vulnerabilities, and companies, their ability to thwart them. Both the PATRIOT act and the Snowden disclosures pushed the issue to the front of the national conversation. Today, the legal and policy debate—over what kind of surveillance tools are acceptable, against whom, and with with whose authorization—continues in full force.
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When reading about Snowden, keep in mind the dedicated NSA employees who strive to uphold the rule of law and protect their country.
The United Kingdom may be on the cusp of new Facial Recognition Software regulations, but for now, the technology is developing faster than the government’s ability to ensure its responsible use.
Thomas Baker’s recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal is eminently forgettable. But its misguided criticism of the FBI’s post-9/11 embrace of counterintelligence highlights how much has changed since Donald Trump took office.
Part one in a series examining powers of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and potential changes.
The New York Times filed the following motion with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court requesting the public release of the applications for and orders authorizing electronic surveillance of Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page.
The U.S. needs to start thinking about how to respond to domestic surveillance in other countries.
Polls show the public is indeed fussed about the surveillance state.
In his recent book Beyond Snowden: Privacy, Mass Surveillance, and the Struggle to Reform the NSA, civil liberties activist and former intelligence official Timothy Edgar calls for a renewed conversation on mass surveillance reform in the global and digital age. This month, Benjamin Wittes interviewed Edgar on his new book at the Hoover Book Soiree.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released documents governing intelligence community dissemination of information regarding members of Congress and congressional staff, known as the "Gates Procedures" after former Director of Central Intelligence Robert Gates. The current procedures are available below, along with previous versions also provided by ODNI.
Recently I participated in a fascinating conference at Georgia Tech entitled “Surveillance, Privacy, and Data Across Borders: Trans-Atlantic Perspectives.” A range of experts grappled with the international aspects of an increasingly pressing question: how can we ensure that law enforcement is able to obtain enough information to do its job in the twenty-first century, while also ensuring that digital security and human rights are protected?