26 Miles

Big Brother Among Us

// December 16th, 2005 // Security & Privacy

I guess I’m among the few who find this revelation unsurprising, so my righteous indignation is more muted than it probably should be.

In any case, the New York Times, among others, are reporting that the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S. military are actively engaged in domestic spying activities. In some cases, this has included creating databases to, in part, track the activities of American citizens who have aroused suspicion only by their participation in lawful protests.

Daniel Solove accurately pinpoints the crux of the concern in his article with his statement:

“So, in other words, the President can secretly authorize secret domestic surveillance by an agency that typically conducts surveillance abroad . . . and do so based on a legal rationale that is secret. This is deeply troubling.”

Bruce Schneier had this to say about the NSA eavesdropping within the U.S. without a warrant:

“It is not overstatement to suggest that this may be the most significant violation of federal surveillance law in the post-Watergate era.”

This is troubling folks. It’s a radical departure from the historically very limited role these organizations have had in domestic intelligence gathering. It’s not that what they’re doing won’t ultimately increase our security. It’s that, unlike the FBI and traditional law enforcement agencies who are typically charged with conducting domestic surveillance, the NSA and by-and-large the US military operate in secret and with very limited oversight, making it suceptible to abuse and potentially compromising our Constitutional rights. This is the problem, and it’s a huge one.

Read more at Concurring Opinions and Bruce Schneier’s Blog.