Spencer Ackerman writes: The surveillance experts at the National Security Agency won’t tell two powerful United States Senators how many Americans have had their communications picked up by the agency as part of its sweeping new counterterrorism powers. The reason: it would violate your privacy to say so. That claim comes in a short letter…
Category: U.S.
Wyden blocks extension of surveillance law
Pete Yost of Associated Press reports: A Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat on Monday blocked a five-year extension of a surveillance law used by the Obama administration to intercept the communications of terrorist suspects overseas. The move is the latest by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon to address concerns that the government may be reviewing the…
Senate: Drones Need to Operate “Freely and Routinely” In U.S.
Steven Aftergood writes: The integration of drones or unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS) needs to be expedited, the Senate Armed Services Committee said in its report on the FY2013 defense authorization bill last week. “While progress has been made in the last 5 years, the pace of development must be accelerated; greater…
U.S. government to use ‘drones the size of GOLF BALLS to spy on AMERICAN citizens’
The U.K. press also finds our drone-related domestic surveillance newsworthy: The Obama administration has been widely criticized for its increased reliance on drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but according to published reports, a plan is now in the works to harness tiny drones to spy on U.S. citizens. A 30-page…