this post was submitted on 26 Jan 2024
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253
US National Security Agency buys web browsing data without warrant, letter shows (www.reuters.com)
submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 18 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Wyden, who released the Dec. 11 letter, called upon U.S. intelligence officials to stop using Americans' personal data without their express knowledge and consent, saying it was unlawful

Anybody able to explain how this is unlawful?

Is there a restriction on intelligence gathering agencies that would apply?

I don’t believe this is right or fair but I’m not clear on how it’s illegal.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago (2 children)

It's blurry. The Patriot Act, after the 9/11 terrosist attacks on the Twin Towers, established a lot of freedom for the US government to spy on its citizens. Lawmakers have been making necessary, holy-shit-we-are-courting-fascism corrections in scope ever since.

Depending on how the courts interpret the adjustments that have happened since the Patriot Act, it may or may not be illegal.

I suspect the legal challenge mostly relies on purchasing law. The US has lots of laws about how the government must act when buying something, in particular.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Thank you for the reply! I hadn’t consider the regulation around the government as the purchaser.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

This isn't spying, though. They purchased information that was perfectly legal to sell.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

It's literally not illegal at all. And in my opinion it's fucking stupid to hamstring the government when private companies do this all the time.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago

OSINT teams buy databases on darkweb to do investigations too. Agencies can be punched in court for obtaining an information that shouldn't be availiable to them and paying criminals as it's not up to legal standards, like tapping the phone without an order. But real criminals are data miners and thieves. And in some cases, weirdly enough, it's still legal to do that.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Private companies being shitheads is a terrible reason to allow the government to be shitheads.