Spying Surge: U.S. Doubles Down on Controversial Surveillance, Privacy Advocates Fuming
The U.S. intelligence community doubled its quirky search terms in 2024 under the controversial Section 702, hitting 7,845. This spike was driven by efforts to identify foreign cyber and terrorism threats. Meanwhile, the FBI’s use of U.S. person search terms plummeted, thanks to the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act.
Hot Take:
When it comes to U.S. intelligence and their love for search terms, it seems they’ve been taking a page out of a toddler’s book: ask a million questions and hope one sticks. If Section 702 were a game show, it’d be “Whose Data is it Anyway?” – where the queries are made up and the warrants don’t matter!
Key Points:
– The use of search terms for querying U.S. person communications doubled in 2024 under Section 702.
– Section 702 allows surveillance of foreign targets but often results in the incidental collection of Americans’ communications.
– A steep reduction in the FBI’s direct queries was noted, resulting from new legal constraints and increased caution.
– Civil liberties advocates argue for a warrant requirement to protect Fourth Amendment rights.
– Tulsi Gabbard, once a privacy hawk, now supports Section 702 but still advocates for a warrant requirement for U.S. person data queries.