Civics: NSA and domestic spying
Is the NSA buying up Americans’ location and browsing data? Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is tired of asking and has now moved to block the confirmation of a new NSA director until he gets answers.
“The American people have a right to know whether the NSA is conducting warrantless domestic surveillance of Americans in a manner that circumvents the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution,” Wyden said in a statement on Thursday submitted to the congressional record.
“Particularly as Congress is currently debating extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Congress must be able to have an informed public debate about the scope of the NSA’s warrantless surveillance of Americans.”
As we’ve previously reported, plenty of personal information is available for purchase from commercial data brokers by US government agencies without a warrant. The Fourth Amendment provides Americans safeguards from unreasonable search and seizures – a protection some, including Senator Wyden, would argue the Feds (and cops to that matter) violate if or when they acquire this info without a warrant.
