The Justice Department would love nothing more than to have access to all information at all times. But, fortunately, there are some laws preventing that. New information revealed to the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act, however, shows that it’s arguable these protections are not strict enough, or that they are bypassed too frequently.
According to the Justice Department’s own records, they are spying on Americans at a rate at least six times greater than they were only a decade ago.
The ACLU reports the federal government’s access to private information has exploded over the last several years. In particular, they are more and more frequently using surveillance techniques known as pen register and tap-and-trace methods.
As explained by Wired.com:
Pen registers obtain, in real time, non-content information of outbound telephone and internet communications, such as phone numbers dialed, and the sender and recipient (and sometimes subject line) of an e-mail message. A trap-and-trace acquires the same information, but for inbound communications to a target.
It’s because this information is concerned “content free” that the feds are able to get to it without demonstrating probable cause of a crime.
What does this mean? Well, typically, in order to violate your civil liberties or your right to privacy with any type of search (including phone taps, searches of your property, etc.), the government would have to demonstrate that there is probable cause or evidence to show a crime had been committed. In cases of these “content free” searches, no such probable cause is necessary. A judge can sign off on the government request without any proof being provided.
In 2001, the Justice Department issued 5,683 orders for these pen register and trap-and-trace searches. In 2011, it was 37,616, an increase of more than 600%.
And these only represent a small fraction of DOJ surveillance tactics. They don’t account for the millions of request sent to phone carriers last year. With few laws governing how phone companies are to handle these requests, many are simply “winging it.”
AT&T, the second largest carrier in the U.S. reported to Congress that in 2007 they had received over 63,000 subpoenas from law enforcement agencies. In 2011, that number was over 131,000. These subpoenas required no judicial oversight.
It could be said, with evidence, that the federal government is doing their best to slowly infringe on our civil liberties—to enact legislation, for instance, that loosely defines the word “terrorist” and makes any one or group that fits this definition subject to extreme abuses of power. But in the case of these “content free” spying tactics, at least, they’ve found a way to get your information without having to bother with those pesky things called rights.
About David Matson