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FBI Issued 19,000 National Security Letters In 2013
Trailrunner7 writes The United States federal government issued more than 19,000 National Security Letters – perhaps its most powerful tool for domestic intelligence collection – in 2013, and those NSLs contained more than 38,000 individual requests for information. The new data was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Friday as part of its effort to comply with a directive from President Obama to declassify and release as much information as possible about a variety of tools that the government uses to collect intelligence. The directive came in the immediate aftermath of the first revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden about the agency's capabilities, methods and use of legal authorities.
The use of NSLs is far from new, dating back several decades. But their use was expanded greatly after 9/11 and NSLs are different from other tools in a number of ways, perhaps most importantly in the fact that recipients typically are prohibited from even disclosing the fact that they received an NSL. Successfully fighting an NSL is a rare thing, and privacy advocates have been after the government for years to release data on their use of the letters and the number of NSLs issued. Now, the ODNI is putting some of that information into the public record."
The use of NSLs is far from new, dating back several decades. But their use was expanded greatly after 9/11 and NSLs are different from other tools in a number of ways, perhaps most importantly in the fact that recipients typically are prohibited from even disclosing the fact that they received an NSL. Successfully fighting an NSL is a rare thing, and privacy advocates have been after the government for years to release data on their use of the letters and the number of NSLs issued. Now, the ODNI is putting some of that information into the public record."
FUCK BETA
So that is why they are slow, or completely worthless on my FOIA requests. They are busy sending NSLs to everybody under the sun instead of opening up a filing cabinet and hitting the scanner.
Time Bomber the Book coming soon.
Secret warrants you can't challenge are the same as not needing one at all.
Be aware that, NSLs and FISA request are the same thing, go figure, so by releasing the number of NSLs they are at the same time hiding the number of FISA request which could be any number
http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/userdatarequests/US/
Foreign Intelligence Surveillence Act (FISA) requests are court orders that can require U.S. companies to hand over personal information in national security investigations.
National Security Letters (NSLs) are requests authorized by the FBI that can require U.S. companies to hand over "the name, address, length of service, and local and long distance toll billing records" of a subscriber for use in national security investigations. They don't require a court order and cannot be used to obtain anything else from Google, such as Gmail content, search queries, YouTube videos or user IP addresses.
This legal jargon only servers the purpose of turning any rational conversation about it into a buzzword fight.
The reality is there are several types of secret court orders sent to individuals and cloud services companies. And there is one kind of secret order that is so secret we know nothing about, not even its quantity.
If ever there was a time for massive civil disobedience, this is it. Organized, unified disclosure of NSL's would make clear that we refuse to be subjected to the tools of a totalitarian state. Regards, Anonymous Coward :|
A few details did slip out over the years via the "Connecticut Four" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... and others who went to open courts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05...
http://www.americanlibrariesma...
National Security Letters (January 10, 2011)
https://www.aclu.org/national-...
"...web sites a person visits, a list of e-mail addresses with which a person has corresponded, or even unmask the identity of a person who has posted anonymous speech on a political website."
" provision also allows the FBI to forbid or "gag" anyone who receives an NSL from telling anyone about the record demand. "
FBI Withdraws Unconstitutional National Security Letter After ACLU and EFF Challenge (May 7, 2008)
https://www.eff.org/press/arch...
"a digital library recognized by the state of California -- and its attorneys in November of 2007. The letter asked for personal information about one of the Archive's users, including the individual's name, address, and any electronic communication transactional records pertaining to the user."
FBI Backs Off From Secret Order for Data After Lawsuit (May 8, 2008)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
a blatant violation of the US Constitution.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
And if all 19,000 people had refused, America would have been interesting again.
But money now is more important than freedom later, amirite?
Let's see now: We're SO afraid of an imminent threat to nationa security that we must spy on U.S. citizens within the U.S. even in ways many believe are violations of the Constitution...... BUT we are POWERLESS to stop MILLIONS of unidentified people from slipping across our southern border and settling in the U.S. where they are blending-in and our big crony businesses and one of our political parties are absolutelty demanding these millions all be given amnesty and converted into citizens. So much for the "national security" argument...
Just how many middle-easterners with bad motives have snuck into the country over the southern border? Border Patrol calls them OTM's (Other Than Mexicans) and has estimated some very high numbers of these OTM's over the years. While most are from Guatemala, Venezuela, etc a significant number are known to be from the middle-east. Just which actions would more-efficiently secure the country: Securing the border and screening those that cross, or snooping on all Americans with a massive Constitution-busting spynet?
You will know the Feds are serious about security when the border is secure; before that happens, the spying is about anything BUT "national security"
I ordered a few pounds of potassium perchlorate and various forms of aluminum power. That is enough to get you a letter from the US Justice Department. A nice letter reminding me that making, possessing, and using explosives are illegal without a permit.
Got one so far. Snowden.
There's gotta be more (???)
Seriously. This is all dog and pony show, all for appearance. FBI, CIA, DIA, DEA, DHS, fusion centers, TSA and all other thousands of agencies, both local and federal, have access to all the NSA (and not only NSA) spying, one way or another. If they do not have directly, there are indirect ways to get what is needed. Please keep in mind that all of the NSA own citizen spying contents is also shared with first and second tier "allies", including Israel and, in some instances Saudis. What we are hearing is that there are some underprivileged underdog departments that need to go through the hoops in order to get information, that his next door neighbor, who works for the "government", has freely and this is all done for the "appearance" following the law. Please remember Google and the Prism. NSA has all access all the data traffic that Google is moving via internal spyware. In addition to that there is "Prism". On top of that there are security letters. What a hog wash. Without recognizing, that mere fact of keeping illegally copied data and metadata is violation of the 4th amendment, we can never finish the debate. We do not need the government to be in personal data collection business. There is census every decade. I did not give consent to keep more data than that.
You have the right of freedom of speech. It's in the Constitution. NOTHING trumps that, most certainly not some bullshit piece of paper that never saw a judge and is backed by the most shady of laws.
Every single one of you 19000 nsl holders should SPEAK and publish those letters like the shitstained toilet paper they are.
It's the only way you're going to get this crap against you, the people, to stop... start calling their bluff instead of kissing their ass.
.
I thought those were credit card applications. I threw them all out, unopened.
Have gnu, will travel.