Government surveillance

By Cindy Cohn and Mark Jaycox | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | – The Senate passed the USA Freedom Act today by 67-32, marking the first time in over thirty years that both houses of Congress have approved a bill placing real restrictions and oversight on the National Security Agency’s surveillance powers. The weakening amendments to […]

Bill of Rights

Thank you, Edward Snowden: An End to General Warrants as so-called PATRIOT Act expires

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) – The US government behemoth dedicated to spying on us all in contravention of the Constitution will likely be only slightly inconvenienced by the expiration of the misnamed “PATRIOT Act”, forced by Sen. Rand Paul late Sunday night. But at least a few baby steps back toward democracy will […]

Bill of Rights

Why Rand Paul is right to Kill the So-Called PATRIOT Act: It was never about Terrorism

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has vowed to force the expiration of the so-called PATRIOT Act on Sunday. Paul is right that it is unconstitutional and in this regard he is a better constitutional scholar than Barack Obama, whose stance on this issue is, to say the least, […]

Bill of Rights

Snowden’s Revenge: USA “Freedom” [Surveillance] Act Fails in Senate

contributors

By Nadia Prupis, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) — “The failure of these bills to pass shows just how dramatically the politics of surveillance changed once the extent of the government’s surveillance programs became known to the public.” In a move that is being hailed by civil liberties advocates as a victory for privacy rights, the […]

Bill of Rights

Unlike Congress, Majority of Americans Oppose NSA Spying

contributors

By Nadia Prupis, staff writer | (Commondreams.org) | – Survey commissioned by ACLU shows “how disconnected members of Congress are from the feelings of a lot of the public.” A new survey which found that most Americans oppose NSA surveillance comes as some key sections of the Patriot Act near their expiration date. (Photo: mlliu/flickr/cc) […]

Barack Obama

Just how Illegal has the NSA’s Domestic Spying Been?

contributors

By Andrew Crocker | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | – We now have the first decision from a court of appeals on the NSA’s mass surveillance program involving bulk collection of telephone records under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, and it’s a doozy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion […]

Barack Obama

HUGE WIN FOR PRIVACY! Court Rules NSA Spying Is Illegal

contributors

John Iadarola, Jimmy Dore, Ana Kasparian | (The Young Turks) | – “The second circuit court of appeals has ruled that the bulk collection and storage of Americans phone records is ILLEGAL, good news when it comes to your privacy. John Iadarola (Think Tank), Jimmy Dore (The Jimmy Dore Show), Ana Kasparian (The Point,) break […]

Bill of Rights

Could the New USA Freedom Act stop NSA Bulk Collection of Americans’ Telephone Records?

contributors

By Mark Jaycox and Rainey Reitman | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) A bipartisan group of congressional leaders has reintroduced the USA Freedom Act. The bill is an attempt to rein in the intelligence community’s “Collect It All” strategy, and passing USA Freedom is a first, small step in the right direction. However, it has serious faults […]

Corporate Surveillance

Danger: GOP House’s “Cybersecurity Bills” are Surveillance Bills in Disguise

contributors

By Mark Jaycox | (Electronic Frontier Foundation) | – The House passed two cybersecurity “information sharing” bills today: the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s Protecting Cyber Networks Act, and the House Homeland Security Committee’s National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act. Both bills will be “conferenced” to create one bill and then sent to the Senate […]