Agencies and Surveillance AuthoritySNFI 2015

Agencies and Surveillance Authority

1. Civics 101, Courts, and the Constitution

2. Executive Agencies

3. PATRIOT Act

Checks and Balances

Executive agencies

• CIA – Central Intelligence Agency• NSA – National Security Agency• FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation

Central Intelligence Agency

• Purpose: • foreign intelligence

through clandestine operations

• “active intelligence”

• Objectives: • Counter-intelligence• Counter terrorism• Nonproliferation• Cyber intelligence

Federal Bureau of Investigation

• Purpose: • domestic intelligence

and law enforcement • Active-surveillance

• Objectives:• Coordination law

enforcement • COINTELPRO

National Security Agency

• Purpose: • signal intelligence

(SIGNIT) • “passive-intelligence”

• Objectives:• Global monitoring• Data collection and

processing

Supreme Court Decisions and other Landmark Decisions

• Berger V. New York (1967)• Katz v. United States (1967)• Keith v DC of the Eastern District of Michigan and the

United States (1972)• Watergate (1972)• Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978)• Executive Order 12333

Patriot Act Cases

• Section 203• Section 206• Section 213• Section 215• Title III• Section 505

Section 203

• “Information Wall”• Sections 203(b) and 203(d)• Amended the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedures regarding grand jury

proceedings

• Privacy Implications• Sharing intercepted communications without a court order• Mission Creep/Potential for Abuse

• Counterterrorism• Lack of criteria• Mass, indiscriminate information sharing

Section 206

• Roving Surveillance• “FISA Wiretaps”• FISA Wiretaps vs. Criminal Wiretaps

• Privacy• Intel agencies do not have to specify the target or location of

surveillance• “John Doe” wiretaps• 2005 FBI incident

• Reforms• Narrow search requirements• “Ascertainment” provision

Section 213

• “Sneak and Peek” Searches• Delayed search warrant notifications• Extensive form of domestic surveillance

• Counterterrorism vs. Criminal Investigations• Privacy trade-off• 4th Amendment concerns

• Rate of Use• Substantial increase since 2002

Section 213

Section 215

• Metadata Collection• Metadata vs. Content• USA FREEDOM Act

Reforms

• Scope of the program• “Dragnet operation”

• Counterterrorism• Counter-productive

• Privacy• Metadata is very revealing• Misuse/Abuse

Title III

• Anti-Terrorism Financing Restrictions• Requires financial institutions to impose strict anti-money

laundering measures• Suspicious Activity Reports• Financial Privacy

• Counterterrorism Effectiveness• Hard to track• Difficult to prevent

• Organized Crime• Bulk cash smuggling• Mexican DTOs (drug trafficking organizations)

Section 505

• National Security Letters• Allows the FBI to subpoena business records• Gag order

• Privacy• Scope of NSLs• High use rate• Misuse/Abuse

• Reforms• Impact of the USA FREEDOM Act• President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications

Technologies

FISA, FISC and Section 702

• Section 702• FAA of 2008• Domestic surveillance couched as foreign surveillance

• Poor government oversight• Substantial NSA discretion• Millions of Americans swept up by Sec. 702 searches• Current Reforms/FISC Ineffective

• Fourth Amendment• “Special Needs” doctrine• “Incidental Collection”/Minimization Requirements

FISC and Section 702

• Article III• Lack of adversary process• Cases and Controversies

Implications of Sec. 702

• Privacy• “Incidental collection”• “Backdoor searches”• Content Collection/Storage

• PRISM• NSA program• Privacy• Internet/Cloud Computing

Leaked Information

NSA Reform

• “Rogue Agency”

• NSA Surveillance Programs• Metadata (Section 215)• PRISM/Electronic Content Collection (Section 702)• Project Bullrun