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Is Google allowed to disclose the number of FISA requests it gets? I was under the impression NSLs were being used much less since the PATRIOT Improvement and R
by dangrossman 14y ago
Is Google allowed to disclose the number of FISA requests it gets? I was under the impression NSLs were being used much less since the PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (2005) weakened them, and were largely replaced by obtaining secret warrants from the FISA court.
FISA is scarier. Under that law, secret surveillance can begin before a warrant is issued, warrants are issued by judges who keep no records of their opinions made in complete secret, and the surveillance can continue even during a challenge over and appeals of that warrant. When the EFF made a FOIA request for information about the FISA court, it got an ominous response: a letter saying there were documents they'd never see, zero court records, and a completely redacted version of an investigation into FISA's constitutionality. By completely redacted, I mean they returned pages where every word on every line was blanked.
The only difference is that a FISA warrant has to be connected to a foreign person or body in some way. That can be as little as "we think by wiretapping this American, we'll learn something about this organization in another country". For those not living in the US, it means Google/Facebook/Microsoft/etc. can be compelled to surveil your communication through their service secretly without an NSL.
- jonknee 14y agoYes. http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2013/03/transparency-report-shedding-more-light.html http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/2013/03/transparency-... > Starting today, we’re now including data about NSLs in our Transparency Report. We’re thankful to U.S. government officials for working with us to provide greater insight into the use of NSLs.
- dangrossman 14y agoWhere does that say anything about FISA warrants?
- trotsky 14y agoIf you're a foreign national on foreign soil with data in us data centers held by us companies I don't believe it's common practice for these companies to require a warrant, fisa or otherwise, to share information with national services. Consider the case of the NSA warrantless wiretaps. The telcos were voluntarily providing bulk access, there was only a legal issue because US citizens on were involved.
- rdtsc 14y agoDidn't they get around that by deciding that copying the data and storing isn't considered "search", only when a person accesses and looks it when the Constitution starts to get in they of "business". I would pretty much guess that is the purpose of the data storage center NSA is building in Utah -- to just archive everything sent anywhere. It would also seem that when a warrant is obtained it is obtained for historical data and there is no window. So if you commit some act that is deemed dangerous enough to issue an warrant to search your history -- theoretically all your history since birth could be searched. Everything you ever did online that was recorded becomes game.