Declan McCullagh reports: The FBI has recently formed a secretive surveillance unit with an ambitious goal: to invent technology that will let police more readily eavesdrop on Internet and wireless communications. The establishment of the Quantico, Va.-based unit, which is also staffed by agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency, is…
Category: U.S.
Maryland Court of Appeals lets ruling barring police collection of DNA from arrestees stand
Lyle Denniston writes: Maryland’s state supreme court, the Court of Appeals, has refused to reconsider a split decision barring police from collecting DNA samples from individuals who have been arrested. The denial order, issued Friday, is here. State officials have said they will now seek to take the case on to the Supreme Court, but added that…
Wyden: White House-backed cybersecurity bill sacrifices privacy
Brendan Sasso and Andrew Feinberg report: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) warned on Monday that the Senate’s cybersecurity legislation is an “overreaction” that would undermine Americans’ right to privacy. He said the legislation, which is supported by the White House, shares some of the same “defects” as the House’s Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)….
SCOTUS will hear Clapper v. Amnesty Intl on issue of standing
Adam Liptak reports: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to address one of the biggest controversies surrounding the response to the Sept. 11 attacks – the government’s aggressive use of electronic surveillance. The justices will decide whether a challenge to a 2008 federal law that broadened the government’s power to monitor international communications may proceed….