domestic surveillance news stories on Newser

Bloomberg: Minority Surveillance Like Checking for Measles

Mark Russell — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:52:42 CDT

The NYPD's increased undercover surveillance of Muslims and ethnic minorities since 9/11 is like screening children for measles, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday. "If there is a community where the crime rate is very high, to not put more cops in that community is ridiculous," said the mayor in an...

Americans Willing to Give Up Some Freedoms for Security

Kevin Spak — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:21:54 CDT

Americans are willing to give up some privacy and freedoms for security—but not others. A new AP poll has charted just which freedoms Americans are partial to. For example: 71% are OK with surveillance cameras in public places 58% are fine with full-body scans and pat-downs at the airport...

NYPD Spied on 250 Mosques, Student Groups

Matt Cantor — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:15:00 CDT

New York’s police department kept tabs on some 250 mosques and Muslim student groups in the metropolitan area, turning to undercover officers and informants to help monitor the organizations, an AP investigation finds. Confidential documents obtained by the news organization show a blend of anti-terror measures and monitoring of innocent...

China Plans Massive Surveillance Network

Matt Cantor — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 14:16:53 CDT

China is preparing a surveillance network with an area bigger than New York City—and Cisco is among the Western companies set to help. China says the system of up to 500,000 cameras is aimed at preventing crime, but human rights advocates fear it could be used to stamp...

Patriot Act Set for 4-Year Extension

Matt Cantor — Fri, 20 May 2011 05:00:00 CDT

With the Patriot Act's three central provisions set to expire in a week, Congressional leaders John Boehner, Harry Reid, and Mitch McConnell struck a deal to extend the law for four more years, Politico reports. Both chambers must pass the plan before it becomes law. The sections set to expire...

House Passes Patriot Act Extensions

Rob Quinn — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 05:00:00 CST

The House of Representatives has voted 275-144 to extend three key provisions of the Patriot Act until the end of the year. The measures—which would keep in place surveillance powers including counterterrorism officials' ability to conduct roving wiretap surveillance of targets—were slammed as "intrusive" and "unconstitutional" by opposing...

US Agencies Link Up to Spy on ... You

Matt Cantor — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:31:06 CST

Aiming to fight home-grown terrorism, the US is linking local, state, FBI, and military resources to gather information about American citizens: It’s “the largest and most technologically sophisticated” domestic intelligence system the country has ever assembled, write Dana Priest and William Arkin after a Washington Post investigation that’s spanned several...

Obama Moves to Boost FBI Access to Internet Records

Rob Quinn — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:19:13 CDT

The Obama administration is trying to make it easier for the FBI to obtain records of people's Internet usage without a court order. Adding "electronic communication transactional records" to the list of items the FBI can demand without court approval would allow the bureau to access the email addresses of...

More Surveillance = More Terrorism

Harry Kimball — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:24:16 CST

The expansion of government surveillance powers, often enabled by public unease following a terror attack or scare, actually makes those events more likely, Glenn Greenwald writes. The main problem is that intelligence agencies get clogged with useless information. In the cases of Ft. Hood and the Christmas attempt, our intelligence...