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FBI Quietly Changes Its Privacy Rules For Accessing NSA Data On Americans (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The FBI has quietly revised its privacy rules for searching data involving Americans' international communications that was collected by the NSA, U.S. officials have confirmed to the Guardian. The classified revisions were accepted by the secret U.S. court that governs surveillance, during its annual recertification of the agencies' broad surveillance powers. The new rules affect a set of powers colloquially known as Section 702, the portion of the law that authorizes the NSA's sweeping "Prism" program to collect internet data. Section 702 falls under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and is a provision set to expire later this year. A government civil liberties watchdog, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, alluded to the change in its recent overview of ongoing surveillance practices. The PCLOB's new compliance report, released last month, found that the administration has submitted "revised FBI minimization procedures" that address at least some of the group's concerns about "many" FBI agents who use NSA-gathered data. Sharon Bradford Franklin, a spokesperson for the PCLOB, said the rule changes move to enhance privacy. She could not say when the rules actually changed -- that, too, is classified. Last February, a compliance audit alluded to imminent changes to the FBI's freedom to search the data for Americans' identifying information. "FBI's minimization procedures will be updated to more clearly reflect the FBI's standard for conducting U.S. person queries and to require additional supervisory approval to access query results in certain circumstances," the review stated. The reference to "supervisory approval" suggests the FBI may not require court approval for their searches -- unlike the new system Congress enacted last year for NSA or FBI acquisition of U.S. phone metadata in terrorism or espionage cases.

49 comments

  1. Translation: You are still Serfs by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 4, Funny

    The sad thing is, it's only Americans who are serfs in America. Canadian and citizens of the EU have real privacy rights guaranteed by US/Canada and US/EU data treaties, which are binding.

    They can even sue for their rights.

    You can't.

    Oh, wait, serfs had the right of appeal. You don't even have that.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    1. Re:Translation: You are still Serfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What's your point? Just because treaties prevent the US from spying on EU and Canadian citizens doesn't mean those people have privacy. Those countries do plenty of spying on their own citizens. No member of the Five Eyes or, as Snowden has leaked evidence of, the Fourteen Eyes can be trusted to respect the privacy of their citizens. That includes Canada and a significant portion of the EU. Furthermore, just because international treaties make it illegal for the US to spy on some foreign citizens doesn't mean they're not doing so. The CIA has a history of not following the law. I wouldn't trust the NSA to follow the law, either. Just because something is illegal doesn't mean the three letter agencies aren't doing it anyway.

    2. Re:Translation: You are still Serfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the NSA and FBI are ignoring a constitutional amendment (4th), what makes you think they are going to honor privacy rights in treaties?

    3. Re:Translation: You are still Serfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Non spy agreement with the EU? I don't remember that one. The only "privacy" agreement I know about is about the agreement where the US gets EU passenger flight data.

      I do however remember one promised no spy agreement between the USA and Germany which turned out to be a total lie by the party in the german government made shortly before the votes in order to stay in office, it worked super well.

    4. Re:Translation: You are still Serfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, because if one thing the US government is known for is holding up and respecting treaties... Ask a native American.

    5. Re:Translation: You are still Serfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are right. The Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) is as evil as the US NSA and UK GCHQ.

    6. Re:Translation: You are still Serfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The real threat are the voters/consumers/citizens. Anything unpredictable is not allowed to happen. Status quo must be protected.
      Everyone is wiretapped because everyone is a threat. Pulling out a bunch of shit on a prospective politician is gold.

    7. Re:Translation: You are still Serfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I suspect Shaw Cable

    8. Re:Translation: You are still Serfs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      while I don't think either of those organisations are beyond any illegality, It is a massive jump from using local courts and pollies to ignore domestic rights in a quasi legal way to blatantly breaching international treaties which have real financial and legal impacts that they cannot easily control.

  2. Can somebody summarize the summary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BeauHD, I've generally found your editing to be quite good (much better than timothy's, in my opinion), but this summary is particularly bad.

    The summary is extremely wordy, yet very vague at the same time.

    I have no idea what it's trying to say, and that's even after I've read the article.

    One of the links also points to Tumblr.

    Many users here block any and all content hosted on Tumblr, due to concerns about its social justice content.

    While the subject matter may be interesting or relevant, the summary is impenetrable.

    This is a case where the submission should have been rejected, or completely rewritten into something more comprehensible.

    1. Re:Can somebody summarize the summary? by rsborg · · Score: 1

      tl;dr
      The FBI just added itself to your fiends & family share plan.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    2. Re:Can somebody summarize the summary? by sumdumass · · Score: 4, Informative

      In short, a section of the patriot act allows the FBI access to data collected by the NSA. A privacy group has been on the FBI's ass and the FBI finally submitted a new plan outlining the data access policy to the FISA court. The FISA court accepted the new rules but the details is being kept secret. The privacy group claims partial victory but won't give enough details on how they know that amount to much more than a guess.

      Short enough?

    3. Re:Can somebody summarize the summary? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

      FBI got look into all the NSA "collect it all" material that held US citizens communications.
      No records got kept of what the search was or was for, the amount of searching, no US courts needed.
      After been exposed by whistleblowers, secret rule changes did something in secret to restore the missing internal oversight of domestic searching.
      Terms like "additional supervisory approval" would point to the same vast domestic access just with more staff and a better domestic bureaucratic paper trail.
      ie the "backdoor search provision" stays for domestic spy use but more bureaucrats have to ensure they have the internal, secret powers to reauthorize and log their own staff.
      Same vast domestic spying, just better records on what was searched for domestically and who did the search.
      Think back to something like MAIN CORE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... now with a secure log in and new logging of all searches.

      --
      Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
    4. Re:Can somebody summarize the summary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That privacy group.... it's not a privacy group, its just another branch of the executive, just like the pretend court FISA and the FBI. So THEY say that THEY are satisfied that THEY are not breaking any laws, but its all hush hush so we keep it all secret.

      If they were obeying the laws, then there would be no secret, so the one thing you can be sure of, is they are not obeying the laws.

    5. Re:Can somebody summarize the summary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed, can't tell shit from the summary. Poorly writen

  3. FISA by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    Fightclub, Is, Secret, Alright?

    1. Re:FISA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      William Shatner, is that you?

    2. Re:FISA by davester666 · · Score: 1

      That totally explains him. Head trauma.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
  4. Drone Strikes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can think of a couple of places they should be getting used on, and none of them overseas.

    Obama would kill a lot of ACTUAL terrorists if you hit those offices...

  5. Umm... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

    So a secret court stamped 'legal' on a classified set of rules governing what access the FBI has to the data that the NSA officially does not collect?

    I think, comrade, that we might have made an error somewhere in the process of implementing this 'representative government' concept...

    1. Re:Umm... by jhol13 · · Score: 1

      I cannot understand how USA got a secret court. Proposing something like that back here in EU would (in most countries) mean political suiciside. I cannot imagine anyone (from far left to far right to anarchists to greens to intelligence agency to ...) with the slightest credibility advocating such a beast here in Finland. Not at least publicly.

    2. Re:Umm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what happens to freedom when you're not paying attention

      Good luck rolling any of this ubiquitous surveillance apparatus back, especially in another five to ten years once an AI is scanning every word and phoneme everyone on earth utters. The boot is slowly descending onto our face.

    3. Re:Umm... by buck-yar · · Score: 2

      This NSA spying is needed. Govt would be in the dark if it wasn't for PRISM. Do we really want the LEO that keep us safe to be blind?

      The 4th does not protect your data when you send it plaintext over the internet. Every router from you to the destination sees your information. NSA is just seeing the same thing every random router has seen since the dawn of the internet.

    4. Re:Umm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because originally it was conceived of as a protection to place some judicial oversight against the excesses of the executive branch TLA's abuses in the wake of Watergate and the Church Committee.

      What there is seemingly little to no support for is the idea that under no circumstances should the U.S. commit espionage or counter-espionage work. Such work, by definition, must be carried out in secret. (Now why one actually needs to worry about such things in a supposedly free and open society, to me, is debatable but I don't think you'll find too many in power wanting to have that debate.)

    5. Re:Umm... by phorm · · Score: 1

      Given historical use of private data and spying, you'd think that particular religious/ethnic group would have even greater concerns about mass data-collection...

    6. Re:Umm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The 4th does not protect your data when you send it plaintext over the internet. Every router from you to the destination sees your information. NSA is just seeing the same thing every random router has seen since the dawn of the internet.

      And the 4th should not apply to my papers either, because the paper sees what I write on it? Dude, inanimate objects don't fucking see.

  6. Where would they get the idea? by rmdingler · · Score: 1
    You know, the really positive takeaway is that we're hearing about this nonsense and it is totally correctable. These people work for us.

    The team that's implementing these "classified revisions" just needs to have it explained to them that we don't want security in exchange for reduced freedom.

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

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:Where would they get the idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your naivete is bordering retardation...

    2. Re:Where would they get the idea? by rmdingler · · Score: 1
      Bordering?!

      What? So, like, my naivete is in need of a wall? A big wall that keeps getting 10 ft taller?

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

      Ernest Hemingway

    3. Re:Where would they get the idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They work for you? Prove it...

    4. Re: Where would they get the idea? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You sir are right. The fbi like most govt entities think they are special and above the law can do whatever they want and no one can stop them. Crooks being crooks honor and all that of which they have NONE.

  7. Finally, we're safe! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is it! This will finally make us all safe. Thank goodness, I thought the finish line would never come.

    With this lynch pin, the fbi can put a complete and utter stop to all senseless crimes and radicalized zealots. And as an added bonus, they shalln't be requiring any further expansions of their powers and legal abilities.

    It's good to know the good guys are out there looking out for us and protecting us from those who would take our freedoms to sate their lust for world control and domination.

  8. Section 702: not "Americans" by daveschroeder · · Score: 1

    Section 702 facilitates targeting and collection on non-US Persons outside the United States whose communications enters, traverses, or otherwise touches the United States, as over 70% of international internet traffic does, or as does any non-US Person outside the US using any US-based cloud or internet service.

    Where US Persons come in is because US corporations and organizations are also "US Persons". But if we suddenly say that doing foreign intelligence collection on non-US Persons outside the US should require the same individualized warrant protections as Americans citizens living in the US, it absurdly turns the entire purpose and function of foreign intelligence collection on its head.

    And if you already don't trust the government, you won't care about anything in this explanation anyway.

  9. FISA is not a court by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FISA is more like a branch of the executive, so its the executing approving the executives actions, the court is just a label.

    Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, is also another agency within the executive. So that too is the executive approving the executives actions. This time with a "privacy" label on it.

    Also the 'F" in FISA stands for FOREIGN, yet its been used to sign off on USA domestic surveillance too, outside of its remit. The bulk "collect it all" that built a haystack out of mainly American data then searched it for foreign needles.

    These 'courts' and 'privacy boards' are really a sham. I'm not surprised they keep their "judgements" secret from the public.

    1. Re:FISA is not a court by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FISA is more like a branch of the executive, so its the executing approving the executives actions, the court is just a label.

      Using that justification, all courts that issue warrants are just branches of the executive. Sorry, fail.

      Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, is also another agency within the executive. So that too is the executive approving the executives actions. This time with a "privacy" label on it.

      No, that actually is a part of the executive. Sorry, fail.

      Also the 'F" in FISA stands for FOREIGN, yet its been used to sign off on USA domestic surveillance too, outside of its remit. The bulk "collect it all" that built a haystack out of mainly American data then searched it for foreign needles.

      Also the "I" in FISA stands for INTELLIGENCE, as in, "Foreign Intelligence," i.e. intelligence on foreigners and USA domestic surveillance is authorized when one of the parties is foreign. Sorry, fail.

      Now you are right that the bulk 'collect it all' has built a haystack of American data. And I ain't sayin' that is right. Then again, bulk intelligence collection itself isn't right as they should be either spying on foreigners or only concerned with specific cases of counterintelligence.

      These 'courts' and 'privacy boards' are really a sham. I'm not surprised they keep their "judgements" secret from the public.

      Not a sham, a rubber stamp. And yes, there is a difference. But I'm not surprised they keep judgments secret either, since you wouldn't want which foreigners being spied on to become public knowledge, nor which persons are under investigation in counter-espionage. If you're going to have espionage and counter-espionage.

  10. a summary that uses a lot of words to say nothing by bloodhawk · · Score: 2

    who the fuck wrote this awful summary. was it really that hard to add a little about what the fuck the changes actually are

  11. cunts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sharon Bradford Franklin, a spokesperson for the PCLOB, said the rule changes move to enhance privacy. She could not say when the rules actually changed -- that, too, is classified.

  12. Re: a summary that uses a lot of words to say noth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The classified changes ?

    Sure:

  13. Re: a summary that uses a lot of words to say noth by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

    Then why such a massive uninformative overly wordy summary? this all could have been achieved in a couple of sentences. FBI made changes, it was accepted by secret court but we don't know what the fuck they changed but privacy groups are somewhat happy about the changes they can't tell us about.

  14. Star Chamber? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is that? Is that some new show like So You Think You Can Dance?

  15. ^_^ by easyTree · · Score: 1

    Sharon Bradford Franklin, a spokesperson for the PCLOB, said the rule changes move to enhance privacy. She could not say when the rules actually changed -- that, too, is classified

    Did anyone else's next-word predictor colour 'enhance' as 'eliminate' ?

  16. Clinton 2016 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Clinton is a square shooter. Clinton 2016!

    1. Re:Clinton 2016 by NetNed · · Score: 1

      I think Hilliary prefers triangles......

  17. What are you talking about? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Clearly, if you have nothing to hide, then you won't mind sharing information. People who hide information are clearly terrorists or criminals. You know... People like the ones in the NSA and the FBI.

  18. Behavior also classified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If when the rules changed is classified, I feel confident that when (or whether) the change in rules causes an actual change in behavior is also classified.

  19. Oh NO! by NetNed · · Score: 1

    Wait, what does this mean for climate change and net neutrality? OH LOOK! A SQUIRREL!

  20. This is how scope creep happens by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't actually know if any scope expansion took place here. However this is exactly how such expansion takes place.

    Start out with a high profile, strong privacy and security policy. Then incrementally weaken it through "quiet changes in policy" until everyone including the meter readers have access. "Hey, they are valued members of our security team!"

    What, are you against efficiency? This is just an efficiency measure!

  21. Legislation by regulation is lazy law. This is.. by niftymitch · · Score: 1

    Legislation by regulation is lazy law. This is legislation by secret regulations.
    Troubling.

    Regulations are supposed to be reviewed by congress.
    A bunch of lazy or impertinent thugs inserted language that allows regulation
    to pass into the status of law if unchallenged.
    It is impossible to challenge a secret change....

    Kafka is giggling.
    Joseph Heller is giggling.
    George Orwell did not author a plan, don't ya know... it was a cautionary tail.

    Wait someone is knocking on the door.
    I was nine and asked the grandmother of the neighbor kid what those numbers on her arm were.
    I was an ignorant silly nine year old. Not stupid... I did listen the next day to her daughter.
    Pay attention.

    --
    Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain.