Tag: US

When it comes to US surveillance reform, structural changes don’t grab as many headlines as, say, ending bulk collection programs. Yet, ultimately, reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) system, including its Court of Review (FISCR), would be one of the most feasible and effective solutions to protecting the rights of users everywhere against the abuses of intrusive surveillance.

Access sees the PCLOB’s recommendations as a major step toward ending the practice of indiscriminate bulk collection of user data. While the report is limited in its scope, it makes bold statements casting doubt on both the legality and the utility of the NSA’s mass surveillance programs.

After President Obama today announced changes to the NSA’s mass surveillance programs, civil liberties groups expressed skepticism and concern over continued bulk collection. Groups including Access, Demand Progress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, Free Press and ThoughtWorks vowed to continue organizing “The Day We Fight Back” a day of international activism on February 11, 2014 to demonstrate widespread opposition to the spying regime.

Today, U.S. President Barack Obama gave a speech laying out proposed reforms to the U.S. National Security Administration’s (NSA) mass surveillance programs. In his speech, the President called for reform to the current bulk telephony metadata programs conducted under Section 215, including the introduction of judicial review; guidance and limits on the use of the data of non-U.S. persons; and the creation of improved oversight at the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

Today, Access released it analysis and review of the President Obama’s Advisory Committee’s Recommendations for N.S.A. reform. While some of the suggested reforms could lead to welcomed increase of privacy protections, overall the recommendations do not go far enough.

Yesterday, a U.S. Appeals Court invalidated the U.S. Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality rules. In its ruling, the court stated that the FCC lacked the authority to prevent internet service providers from discriminating among certain types of traffic — effectively allowing providers to make pay-to-play a reality online. This ruling is a significant blow to net neutrality, in the United States and elsewhere. The Court’s ruling creates a dangerous global precedent places the unique character of the internet — its boldness, creativity, and diversity — at risk. And yet, by ruling selectively on the merits of the case, the Court has left the door open for possible reforms, at least in the United States.

Last week, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) released a statement detailing plans to release not just one, but two reports on NSA surveillance programs. The Board will release one report on metadata collection under PATRIOT Act Section 215 and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), expected in late January or early February, and a second report on the targeting of non-US persons under FISA Section 702, with an indeterminate release date. These reports come on the heels of a parallel report by the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, released in December 2013.

A broad coalition of activist groups, companies, and online platforms will hold a worldwide day of activism in opposition to the NSA’s mass spying regime on February 11th. Dubbed “The Day We Fight Back”, the day of activism was announced on the eve of the anniversary of the tragic passing of activist and technologist Aaron Swartz. The protest is both in his honor and in celebration of the victory over the Stop Online Piracy Act two years ago this month, which he helped spur

After years of public calls for telco transparency, today marks a historic moment: the release of the first-ever telco transparency report. We applaud CREDO Mobile for being the first telco in the world to issue such a report, detailing their responses to law enforcement requests for user data.

One of the many recommendations in the President’s Review Group report on the NSA surveillance programs released last month was for the review of MLATs, or Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties. This was the second time that MLATs made the news in December: at the beginning of the month, eight major internet companies issued a series of principles for reforming government surveillance that including improving the MLAT system. Clearly MLATs are an issue, but what does this four-letter word mean, and why are they so desperately in need of reform?