Politics

Google has filed a petition with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court citing its first amendment rights as it asks for permission to disclose controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests. The company revealed in a Google+ post that it is seeking to separate out federal criminal requests from those related to national security: “We have Continue Reading →

FBI Director Robert Mueller said Wednesday the bureau was surveilling the United States with drones. The revelation was during an FBI oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and comes as the bureau, along with the National Security Agency, are on the defensive about revelations that they are obtaining metadata on Americans’ phone records and Continue Reading →

Speaking to a congressional committee Tuesday morning, General Keith Alexander revealed that government surveillance efforts have thwarted “over 50” possible terrorist threats since 9/11, including plans to bomb the New York Stock Exchange and NYC subway system. Alexander, who heads the NSA, specifically noted that programs like the Verizon metadata collection may have been able Continue Reading →

Yahoo has spoken up to clarify claims made over the US government’s PRISM program two weeks after the news broke. CEO Marissa Mayer said Yahoo received between 12,000 and 13,000 requests from US law enforcement agencies between December 1, 2012 and May 31 2013. However, the requests aren’t only from FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act). Continue Reading →

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has signed a bill giving Texans more privacy over their inboxes than anywhere else in the United States. On Friday, Perry signed HB 2268, effective immediately. The law shields residents of the Lone Star State from snooping by state and local law enforcement without a warrant. The bill’s e-mail amendment was Continue Reading →

Apple has spoken up about the US government’s PRISM program and revealed that between December 2012 and May 2013 the firm received 4,000-5,000 requests for user data from the government. That data isn’t limited to FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) enquiries, however, and it includes requests for information to help find missing persons or solve Continue Reading →

NPR has learned that the Obama administration, under pressure to lift a cloak of secrecy, is considering whether to declassify a court order that gives the National Security Agency the power to gather phone call record information on millions of Americans. The document, known as a “primary order,” complements a shorter Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court Continue Reading →

Facebook and Microsoft on Friday became the first Internet companies to disclose the total number of legal orders they receive for user data, including ones from the National Security Agency and from state, local, and federal police performing criminal investigations. The total for Facebook: About 18,000 accounts over a six month period, or one-thousandth of Continue Reading →

President Obama may still be facing many questions over the NSA surveillance efforts of phone and internet users, but he’s moving forward with another government technology effort that’s not likely to draw quite as much controversy. In an executive order announced on Friday, the president issued a memorandum ordering the government to free up a Continue Reading →

On Wednesday, the New York city council introduced a new bill that would make it illegal to use a 3D printer “to create any firearm, rifle, shotgun, or any piece or part thereof,” without being a licensed gunsmith. And even the creator would be required to notify the New York Police Department and register the Continue Reading →