News & Commentary

Recently released government logs document that multiple law enforcement agencies tap into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s extensive and sophisticated fleet of drones for domestic surveillance use, according to the Washington Post. Between 2010-2012, the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) flew 700 drone missions for other government agencies. The logs, obtained through a Freedom of Information lawsuit, brought by the civil liberties group Electronic Frontier Foundation, reveal that the Coast Guard, the Drug Enforcement Agency and immigration authorities are using CBP drones at frequency rates higher than previously disclosed. A spokesman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation warned that the extensive drone use raised serious privacy issues. These are the same concerns raised by the ACLU of Illinois in support of the Illinois’ Freedom From Drone Surveillance Act, enacted last August to off-set possible privacy abuses by government drones. The Post reports that:

Columnist Leonard Pitts reflects on the current disregard of the Fourth Amendment and points to the recent unsuccessful attempt to sue the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency for unlawfully detaining a train passenger and confiscating his laptop. Pitts lists multiple areas where the Fourth Amendment is no longer enforced as a  protection  against warrantless government search and seizures, including the case of Pascal Abidor, who was represented by the ACLU and a number of other groups. A graduate student in Canada who holds dual U.S. and French citizenship, Abidor was pulled off a train at the Canadian border in 2010, cuffed, held for several hours and had his laptop confiscated for 11 days. Last month, Judge Edward Korman dismissed Abidor’s case, claiming that he, and his co-plaintiffs, had no standing because such searches are so rare travelers are not likely to be similarly victimized. Pitts’ list of other areas where the Fourth Amendment no longer has teeth includes:

The Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday on the constitutionality of the Illinois Eavesdropping Act which requires consent from all parties if a conversation is recorded, whether or not the conversation is private. The ACLU of Illinois filed amicus briefs on behalf of both of the criminal defendants whose cases were heard. In People v. Clark, the accused was representing himself in a civil proceeding, and recorded a court hearing and a brief conversation with the opposing lawyer, in order to advance his access to the courts. In People v. Melongo, the defendant recorded her phone conversations with a county court reporter and then posted the recordings online, in order to advance her claim of ineffective government services. Ms. Melongo was arrested and imprisoned for 18 months while awaiting the conclusion of her trial. In both of these cases, a trial judge held that people have the right to record these kinds of conversations. The prosecutors appealed these decisions to the state’s Supreme Court. The Courthouse News highlighted portions of the ACLU of Illinois’ brief in support of Ms. Melongo’s claim.

The New York Times published a call from the National ACLU for the exoneration of Ed Snowden on espionage charges. The opinion piece written by Jameel Jaffer, ACLU Deputy Legal Director, reiterates all that the public has learned about N.S.A. programs and the agency’s infringement of accepted privacy standards since Snowden began releasing his information. Jaffer notes:

The New York Times writes that President Obama has received the report of a panel of experts tasked with analyzing and recommending reforms of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) intelligence gathering. The report recommends 46 changes to the agency’s current operations. The five independent intelligence and legal experts completed their report on the heels of this week’s Federal Court ruling questioning the constitutionality of the agency’s indiscriminate collection of phone-use data. The ACLU has also challenged the legality of the data gathering programs in a suit now pending in Federal Court:

The Washington Post reports U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon, citing the “almost Orwellian technology” used by the NSA, ruled that the government had failed to justify its case for the “indiscriminate” collection and retention of personal information. The ruling addressed government collection of metadata on American's phone calls. This metadata includes the time and length of calls, as well as the numbers dialed. The Judge called the government programs a violation of privacy granted under the Fourth Amendment and granted an injunction against further NSA collection but he simultaneously stayed his order to allow for a government appeal.  Seeking comments from a number of legal authorities, the Post reported reaction from the ACLU, “which has also sued the government over the program’s constitutionality:”

The Washington Post reports an internet petition, demanding modernization of electronic privacy laws, has generated enough signatures to require a response from the Administration. Generated by a coalition, including the ACLU, the petition was built as a public out-cry against the growing evidence of unfettered, and unregulated, government-agency spying on everyday internet use by Americans. The petition calls for updating the Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA).

The Washington Post reports that what you read and the internet news sites that attract your attention create a bounty of profile material ripe for spying abuse which could be easily thwarted. ACLU principal technologist and a senior policy analyst Christopher Soghoian maintains that media outlets could protect their readers’ privacy by simply activating SSL encryption.

Tech giants, including Google, Facebook and Apple, have sent an open letter to President Barack Obama and Congress, calling for tighter controls on the collection and surveillance of personal data, Reuters reports (via The Chicago Tribune). In light of the cables leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the companies are led by a sense of urgency to call on government to reform electronic privacy laws.  The ACLU has advocated for the Electronic Communications Privacy Act -- a law that was enacted in 1986 -- to be updated to reflect today's growing online privacy concerns. The open letter states: