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FBI Can't Find Its Drone Privacy Reports

Posted by timothy on from the loaned-them-to-the-IRS dept.

v3rgEz (125380) writes "Programs run by the federal government are typically required to undergo a Privacy Impact Assessment if there's a chance they'll veer into monitoring the activities of citizens: The assessments help balance the risks and benefits of the program, and help guide any oversight to prevent abuse. But despite being legally mandated, the FBI and Justice Department have had a tough time producing the assessments done in conjunction with the Bureau's domestic surveillance drone program, first telling privacy advocates to file a FOIA request, and then rejecting that request, before ultimately claiming they now simply can't find the documents altogether."

2 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Nothing ever happens to them. by rmdingler · · Score: 3, Insightful
    They do what they will under the guise of security theatre. LEOs and TLAs routinely disregard anything remotely inconvenient for them in the pursuit of their mission.

    Any citizen paying attention a small fraction of the time can see that the rights of the governed just get in the way of these "patriots" solemn duty to protect us.

    I don't know who you blame for the way things are. Is it the fault of the violators of the Constitution or the complacence the general public seems to have regarding government malfeasance?

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

  2. Re:Stingray? - Saw one UP CLOSE! by Obfuscant · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The realtor told us that the property the cell tower is on is owned by a .

    Owned by an "invisible agency"?

    There are big black cables going right from the cell tower into the brick building and back out again. It's a DIRECT tap off the cell phone tower!

    Makes for a great conspiracy theory, but all fluff and no bite. It is very common for towers to have several co-located radio systems. Every location I know of in this area has several agencies all on the same tower. One coastal site I work at has Verizon, Coast Guard, and state radios.

    You should realize that the 700/800MHz antennas for public service and feds look identical to the same band antennas that cell phone carriers use, and even different bands can be hard to differentiate from a distance. Especially when the federal systems are trunking and need the same kind of directionality that cell systems do. A "tap off the cell phone tower" is meaningless scare-mongering. You don't tap the tower.