Dissent and Surveillance

 

Whether it’s illegal wiretapping on charities, controversial reports issued by fusion centers or covert surveillance of peaceful protesters, threats to First Amendment rights are too commonplace.
 

Photo: Brian Martin

 

Dissent and surveillance

President Urged to Nominate Appointees to Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

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Date: 
March 9, 2010

On March 1, 2010 a coalition of 25 civil liberty advocacy groups, think tanks and other nonprofit organizations sent a letter to President Obama requesting the nomination of appointees to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB).  According to the letter, the PCLOB “is one of the few safeguards adopted to protect Americans from improper intrusions into our privacy and civil liberties” from national security laws. With all five seats on the board vacant since late 2008, the letter is calling for the President to “appoint individuals immediately.” Excessive government intrusion into nonprofit programs is affected, in procedures such as USAID's proposed Partner Vetting System.  

Planned Parenthood & Others Targets of Unlawful Intelligence Collection Activities Between 2001-2008

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Date: 
March 8, 2010

A heavily redacted 800 page document released by the Department of Defense (DoD) in February 2010 shows that military intelligence officials spied on Planned Parenthood and other domestic groups between 2001 through 2008. Released to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in July 2009, the document characterizes some of the intelligence collection as “unlawful.”

Will Lieberman Use Fort Hood Shooting to Crush our Right to be Radical?

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Date: 
February 16, 2010
Author: 
Sue Udry, Director of the Defending Dissent Foundation

On Nov. 19, 2009, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, chaired by Senator Lieberman held a hearing on the Fort Hood shooting.  “We will look at the Fort Hood murders not as an isolated event, but as part of a larger pattern of homegrown terrorism that has emerged over the past several years,” Lieberman said in a press release about the hearing.

House Joins Senate in Passing Bill to Extend Patriot Act Provisions

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Date: 
February 26, 2010

Update: President Obama signed a one-year extension of three sections of the USA Patriot Act on Feb. 27, 2010 without any restrictions on the provisions that many lawmakers and civil liberty advocates sought to safeguard American civil liberties.

Extension of Patriot Act Provisions May Be Inserted in Jobs Bill

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Date: 
February 12, 2010

On Feb. 11, 2010, Senate Finance Committee leaders agreed on language to extend three Patriot Act provisions that had been set to expire at the end of the month. Included in an unrelated jobs bill, the language for extending all the provisions until Feb. 28, 2011 ignores concerns about unwarranted government surveillance and seizures of property. The bill is expected to draw intense scrutiny from members of both parties, and the final decision to include the Patriot Act provisions remains undecided. 

House Hearing Explores Protecting Speech While Preventing Violent Extremism

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Date: 
December 30, 2009

Coming on the steps of Americans allegedly plotting or committing acts of terrorism, a Dec. 15, 2009 Congressional hearing sought to identify where counterterrorism efforts intended to prevent violence cross the line into punishing radical, but protected, speech and thought. The hearing, "Violent Extremism: How Are People Moved from Constitutionally-Protected Thought to Acts of Terrorism," was held by the House Homeland Security subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment.

Vote on Expiring Patriot Act Provisions is Delayed 60 Days

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Date: 
December 29, 2009

Proponents on both sides of the Patriot Act reauthorization battle will have to wait until 2010 for a resolution. On Dec. 16, 2009, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rejected the Senate plan to include the Patriot Act surveillance provisions with a defense spending bill. Instead the House voted for a 60-day extension of the three expiring provisions.  The additional time will be used to iron out the differences between the Senate and House versions of the new law. Lawmakers and civil liberty advocates are hopeful that the extension will result in curtailing of some of the broad authorities granted by the existing law. 

EFF Forces Release of Documents Revealing Intelligence Gathering on Peaceful Advocacy

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Date: 
December 28, 2009

Documents released by the Department of Justice on Dec. 16, 2009 show homeland security officials have been improperly collecting intelligence on American citizens and groups since 2007.  The 162 pages of “intelligence oversight reporting” were obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) after filing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in July 2009. According to EFF, the report describes intelligence gathering activities that the agencies "have reason to believe may be unlawful." 

Update: ACLU Drops Suit After TSA Changes Policies to Limit Unreasonable Searches

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Date: 
November 16, 2009

Update: Just days before the deadline for the government to respond to a lawsuit alleging that airport security violated the rights of a Ron Paul supporter, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued new directives about carrying large quantities of money through security. According to the Washington Times, the new policies “tell officers screening may not be conducted to detect evidence of crimes unrelated to transportation security" and that large amounts of cash don't qualify as suspicious for purposes of safety. In response to the new guidelines, the ACLU has agreed to drop its lawsuit, which it had filed on behalf of Steve Bierfeldt in June 2009.  The new directives will not be released unless a Freedom Of Information Act request is submitted. 

Massachusetts State Bill Calls For Oversight on Fusion Center

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Date: 
November 6, 2009

On Oct. 21, 2009 a Massachusetts state legislator introduced a bill designed to prevent intelligence collecting procedures in the state from violating First Amendment rights. The bill would add oversight to the activities of the state’s fusion center and would prohibit collecting political or religious views of individuals unless it pertained to an ongoing criminal investigation.  In light of several controversial fusion center reports warning about anti-war activists and third party politicians, civil liberty advocates praised the bill as providing “reasonable checks that will help to keep Massachusetts residents both safe and free."