CQR Government Surveillance
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Published by CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. www.cqresearcher.com Government Surveillance Is government spying on Americans excessive? ow tightly the government should keep tabs on citizens has long been fiercely debated. But con - cern about surveillance intensified in June after H National Security Agency computer specialist Edward Snowden revealed classified details of agency electronic snooping programs. Civil liberties advocates, lawmakers and others Demonstrators in Berlin, Germany, protest on July 27 also have cited growing unease with other surveillance measures, against the sweeping U.S. electronic surveillance operations revealed in June by National Security including the use of unmanned “drone” aircraft and tiny video Agency computer specialist Edward Snowden (shown on placard). Many Germans were outraged at reports that the super-secret spy agency had collected data cameras. Congress, along with state and local governments, is ex - on German citizens, including emails. pected to take up a variety of bills this fall to protect privacy and increase transparency about government activities. But the Obama I THIS REPORT N administration maintains that internal safeguards — including a THE ISSUES ....................719 S federal civil liberties oversight board created in 2004 — have pre - BACKGROUND ................725 I vented the federal government from becoming “Big Brother.” CHRONOLOGY ................727 D CURRENT SITUATION ........730 E CQ Researcher • Aug. 30, 2013 • www.cqresearcher.com AT ISSUE ........................733 Volume 23, Number 30 • Pages 717-740 OUTLOOK ......................734 RECIPIENT OF SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS AWARD FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY ................738 EXCELLENCE N AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION SILVER GAVEL AWARD THE NEXT STEP ..............739 GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE Aug. 30, 2013 THE ISSUES OUTLOOK Volume 23, Number 30 • Is government surveil - More Cameras MANAGING EDITOR: Thomas J. Billitteri 719 lance making the country 734 Surveillance is expected to [email protected] safer? become more widespread ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS: Lyn Garrity, • Does government surveil - and less intrusive. lyn.garrity@ sagepub.com, Kathy Koch , lance violate civil rights? [email protected] • Does surveillance under - SIDEBARS AND GRAPHICS SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: mine Americans’ trust in Thomas J. Colin [email protected] government? FISA Court Rejects Few 720 Surveillance Requests CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Sarah Glazer, BACKGROUND The secret panel has rejected Peter Katel , Reed Karaim, Robert Kiener, only 11 applications since 1979. Barbara Mantel, Tom Price, Jennifer Weeks ‘Unreasonable Searches’ SENIOR PROJECT EDITOR: Olu B. Davis 725 British agents had broad Government Surveillance authority to search colonists’ 721 Seen as Too Broad FACT CHECKER: Michelle Harris homes. Seventy percent believe the data are used for purposes 726 Court-Imposed Limits other than fighting terrorism. The Supreme Court began Many Major Companies limiting surveillance in the 724 Lack Privacy Protection 1960s. Apple, AT&T and Verizon do An Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. little to protect consumers’ VICE PRESIDENT AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, ‘Vacuum-Cleaner’ Spying privacy. HIGHER EDUCATION GROUP: 726 After 9/11 the National Michele Sordi Security Agency (NSA) Chronology 727 Key events since 1895. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ONLINE LIBRARY AND developed close ties with REFERENCE PUBLISHING: telecommunications com - Todd Baldwin panies. Surveillance Technology 728 Goes Mainstream “We should pause to consider Copyright © 2013 CQ Press, an Imprint of SAGE Pub - PRISM Program 728 the implications.” lications, Inc. SAGE reserves all copyright and other The NSA has collected rights herein, unless pre vi ous ly spec i fied in writing. phone records of tens of U.S. Muslims Seek to End No part of this publication may be reproduced millions of Americans. 730 Police Surveillance electronically or otherwise, without prior written NYPD’s Kelly: “We will not permission. Un au tho rized re pro duc tion or trans mis - change our methods.” sion of SAGE copy right ed material is a violation of CURRENT SITUATION federal law car ry ing civil fines of up to $100,000. At Issue: Forthcoming Debate 733 Is domestic government surveil - CQ Press is a registered trademark of Congressional 730 Lawmakers want to curb lance keeping the U.S. safer? Quarterly Inc. domestic spying. CQ Researcher (ISSN 1056-2036) is printed on acid- OR URTHER ESEARCH free paper. Pub lished weekly, except: (March wk. 5) Obama Administration F F R (May wk. 4) (July wk. 1) (Aug. wks. 3, 4) (Nov. wk. 732 The president seeks greater 4) and (Dec. wks. 3, 4). Published by SAGE Publica - For More Information tions, Inc., 2455 Teller Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. oversight over the court 737 Organizations to contact. that approves surveillance. Annual full-service subscriptions start at $1,054. For pricing, call 1-800-818-7243. To purchase a CQ Re - Bibliography Court Action 738 Selected sources used. searcher report in print or electronic format (PDF), 734 visit www.cqpress.com or call 866-427-7737. Single Courts have taken different reports start at $15. Bulk purchase discounts and positions on whether police The Next Step 739 Additional articles . electronic-rights licensing are also available. Periodicals need warrants to track peo - postage paid at Thousand Oaks, California, and at ple via their cell phones. Citing CQ Researcher additional mailing offices . POST MAST ER: Send ad dress 739 Sample bibliography formats. chang es to CQ Re search er , 2300 N St., N.W., Suite 800, Wash ing ton, DC 20037. Cover: Getty Images/Sean Gallup 718 CQ Researcher Government Surveillance BY CHUCK MCCUTCHEON reported that the NSA’s sur - THE ISSUES veillance net work can reach about 75 percent of U.S. In - hen New York in - ternet communication . 5 vestment banker • Remote-controlled drone W Gabriel Silverstein aircraft, which increasingly are landed his private plane at deployed for domestic sur - an Oklahoma airport in May, veillance. In June, FBI Di - he was startled to be met by rector Robert Mueller said the a group of law enforcement agency has used drones in - officials. He was even more side the United States. Sen - taken aback when, four days ate Intelligence Committee later at an airport in Iowa, Chairman Dianne Feinstein, the same thing occurred. D-Calif., called drones “the Although the officials greatest threat to the privacy wouldn’t comment to the news of Americans.” 6 media, a pilots’ website says • Video cameras, high - they apparently relied on a lighted as a surveillance tool federal database called the Air after the Boston Marathon e e and Marine Operations Sur - m bombings in April, have become a veillance System to suspect N ubiquitous in crime-ravaged c M that Silverstein was trafficking Detroit and other cities. n i drugs. In both instances, he W • Cell phone global posi - / s was let go after no drugs e tioning system (GPS) data, g were found. a which provide the locations m I “I find it hard to believe y of cell users. t t that two inspections in four e • National security letters, G days was completely coinci - Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security which allow the FBI to com - dental,” he said. 1 Agency (NSA), tells the House Intelligence Committee pel banks, telephone compa - To commentators across on June 18 that NSA spying prevents terror attacks on nies, Internet service providers the political spectrum, such U.S. soil. He said the surveillance programs disclosed and others to disclose customer by NSA computer specialist Edward Snowden have incidents are prime examples prevented 54 terrorism plots against the United States records. of what they say the United and its allies. Many congressional leaders support • Undercover officers, who States has become — an in - Alexander’s assertions, but critics remain skeptical, saying have monitored church groups, trusive surveillance state that too many details of the NSA’s operations are secret. anti-war organizations, environ - they compare to Big Brother mental activists and others. in George Orwell’s ominous novel 1984. are unprecedented in human history,” • Facial-recognition programs, How tightly the U.S. government said Neil Richards, a law professor at which are part of a new generation should keep tabs on its citizens has Washington University in St. Louis. “This of biometric tools that have been long been fiercely debated. 2 But the fact alone should give us pause.” 3 widely deployed to find criminals and controversy has grown more pro - Among the types of surveillance and potential terrorists. 7 nounced as technology has become an technologies being used: • “Stingrays,” devices that essen - integral part of Americans’ everyday • Supercomputers that amass and tially simulate cell phone towers and lives, as well as an essential tool for analyze massive amounts of what has enable law enforcement officials to law enforcement and national security become known as “big data” — phone collect serial numbers of individual cell officials. And Edward Snowden’s recent calls, tweets, and social media posts — phones and then track their users. disclosures of National Security Agency to spot potential terrorist activity. The • Fusion centers, a network of (NSA) data-collection programs have NSA said it touches about 1.6 percent more than 70 state and local govern - furiously stoked the controversy. of all Internet traffic in a day but an - ment offices serving as clearinghouses “The scope