Jennifer Scott reports: The government has confirmed plans that will see all phone calls, text messages, emails and visits to websites by members of the public held in a database for one year, but not until after the general election. Dubbed as a “Big Brother” or snooping scheme by critics, the Intercept Modernisation Programme will…
Category: Surveillance
Obama administration tries to vacate adverse rulings
Kim Zetter of Threat Level reports on how the government’s motion to vacate prior rulings in Horn v. Huddle may seriously impact other pending cases such as al-Haramain v. Obama. In Horn v. Huddle, the government settled a 15-year old lawsuit filed by a former DEA agent who claimed he was subjected to illegal eavesdropping….
UK: Recording call breaches trust but does not break law
A news story by Richard Edwards suggests that the UK does not have the kinds of laws we have here in the U.S. about recording telephone conversations without both parties’ knowledge and consent: Companies and public bodies responsible for private telephone systems are allowed to intercept calls for a wide range of purposes but must…
Court: Compulsory taking of DNA from pretrial detainee violates Fourth Amendment
FourthAmendment.com brings us a court opinion out of Pennsylvania that is quoteworthy: A DNA profile generates investigatory evidence that is primarily used by law enforcement officials for general law enforcement purposes. To allow such suspicionless searches, which are conducted in almost all instances with law enforcement involvement, to occur absent traditional warrant and probable cause…