America's Surveillance State

Regardless of whether we support government surveillance programs or oppose them, I believe that it is important that we understand them. A 2017, six-part documentary America's Surveillance State is available on YouTube at the following links, and in other places such as Amazon Prime Video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI1NdigJHP0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZodPWWJmj0I

This documentary series helps you understand surveillance in the United States.

In addition, in a February 6, 2018 article by the Electronic Frontier Foundation we read about a growing trend of companies exercising their right to judicial review when presented with National Security Letters and gag orders.

The list of companies who exercise their right to ask for judicial review when handed national security letter gag orders from the FBI is growing. Last week, the communications platform Twilio posted two NSLs after the FBI backed down from its gag orders. As Twilio’s accompanying blog post documents stated, the FBI simply couldn’t or didn’t want to justify its nondisclosure requirements in court. This might be the starkest public example yet of why courts should be involved in reviewing NSL gag orders in all cases.

A process referred to as "reciprocal notice" gives technology companies a right to request judicial review of the gag orders accompanying NSLs. When a company invokes the reciprocal notice process, the government is required to bring the gag order before a judge within 30 days. The judge then reviews the gag order and either approves, modifies, or invalidates it. The company can appear in that proceeding to argue its case, but is not required to do so.

Under the law, reciprocal notice is just an option. It’s no substitute for the full range of First Amendment protections against improper prior restraints, let alone mandatory judicial review of NSL gags in all cases. Nevertheless, EFF encourages all providers to invoke reciprocal notice because it’s the best mechanism available to Internet companies to voice their objections to NSLs.

The issue of government mass surveillance, and the illegal collection of information about US Persons (and others) is something that should still concern us.

You may also want to read the Defense Privacy and Civil Liberties Office's "Introduction to the Privacy Act". Broadly stated, the purpose of the Privacy Act is to (1) balance the government’s need to maintain information about individuals with the right of individuals to be protected against unwarranted invasion of their privacy and (2) to limit the unnecessary collection of information about individuals.