surveillance technology – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Hearings slated for surveillance technology, WIAA open records bills in Wisconsin

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A Wisconsin bill that would shine light on the emerging investigative technologies and techniques being used by law enforcement is headed for a public hearing this week.

The Assembly Committee on State Affairs and Government Operations has scheduled a hearing on the legislation for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Capitol.

As law enforcement agencies face new crime-fighting challenges in the Digital Age, they are employing technology and tactics that raise civil liberties concerns.

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Peter Scheer: NSA may have adhered to legal rules, but legal rules can’t keep up with changes in surveillance technology

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From First Amendment Coalition: A year or two from now, when investigators have taken stock of all the revelations in the NSA records released by Edward Snowden, the verdict is likely to be that the exposed NSA surveillance activities were NOT unlawful.

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US and UK spy agencies defeat Internet privacy and security

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From The Guardian: US and British intelligence agencies have successfully cracked much of the online encryption relied upon by hundreds of millions of people to protect the privacy of their personal data, online transactions and emails, according to top-secret documents revealed by former contractor Edward Snowden.

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Secret Court opinion finding NSA surveillance unconstitutional released

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From Electronic Frontier Foundation: For over a year, EFF has been fighting the government in federal court to force the public release of an 86-page opinion of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). Issued in October 2011, the secret court's opinion found that surveillance conducted by the NSA under the FISA Amendments Act was unconstitutional and violated "the spirit of" federal law.

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DoJ accused of illegally withholding info on cell surveillance tool

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FOIA requests may illustrate foreign despots’ access to U.S. surveillance devices

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From Courthouse News Service: A federal judge may shine a light on foreign dictatorships that have imported illegal surveillance and jamming technology from the United States.

Events from the so-called Arab Spring show that Middle Eastern dictators have used Western technology to quash uprisings, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit digital watchdog group, has said.

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