government surveillance

8 Stories

Post Office Lets Police Monitor Americans' Mail

Thousands of requests to log the outside of letters are approved each year, per the Washington Post

(Newser) - The Washington Post reports that the US Postal Service allows law enforcement agencies to monitor the mail of Americans—or at least the outside of it—on a fairly regular basis. The postal service has received more than 60,000 such requests since 2015, and it has honored virtually all...

US Senate OKs Spying Bill, Despite Privacy Worries

Bipartisan vote gives thumbs-up to reauthorization of FISA surveillance program

(Newser) - Barely missing its midnight deadline, the Senate voted early Saturday to reauthorize a key US surveillance law after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans' data nearly forced the statute to lapse. The legislation approved 60-34 with bipartisan support would extend...

FBI Misused Database to Search Protesters, Donors

Agency says it was a misunderstanding after FISA criticism

(Newser) - The FBI could pay a price for misusing a digital surveillance tool—after employing it against crime victims, protesters, and even donors to a congressional candidate. The agency has acknowledged the problem and attributed it to a misunderstanding over guidance from Justice Department lawyers, the Washington Post reports. The issue...

Lawmaker Says FBI Searched Him in Surveillance Data

'We clearly have work to do' on the way the agency collects communications, Wray says

(Newser) - A Republican lawmaker on Thursday accused the FBI of wrongly searching for his name in foreign surveillance data, underscoring the challenges ahead for US officials trying to persuade Congress to renew their authorities to collect huge swaths of communications. Illinois Rep. Darin LaHood did not say why the FBI may...

Baltimore Cops Admit They've Been Filming Citizens From Sky

But it wasn't a 'secret' program, they say

(Newser) - Baltimore police are keeping an eye on city residents from the sky. On Tuesday, Bloomberg Businessweek revealed the secret aerial surveillance system police had been using since January, and on Wednesday, police confirmed they have indeed been carrying out aerial surveillance to investigate crimes, the Guardian reports. But a police...

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...

Police Have Been Using Radar to Peek Into Homes

Legal and privacy concerns emerge as law enforcement uses detection technology

(Newser) - The gist of the Fourth Amendment, according to the Supreme Court , is "the right of a man to retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion." Which is why legal and privacy concerns are cropping up regarding the recent revelation that at least...

Twitter Suit: Gov't Won't Let Us Talk About Data Requests

Tech giant's complaint says restrictions violate its First Amendment rights

(Newser) - First rule about government requests for information: Don't talk about government requests for information. That's one rule Twitter doesn't want to play by, leading to a lawsuit filed today that claims the US government is violating the company's First Amendment rights by forcing it to keep...

8 Stories