Reports of the FBI and NSA using foreign surveillance...

Reports of the FBI and NSA using foreign surveillance programs to watch Muslim-Americans are “sadly reminiscent of government surveillance of civil rights activists and anti-war protesters in the 1960s and 70s,” said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Mark Rumold in a Wednesday blog post (http://bit.ly/1neAUtC). The Intercept reported Tuesday that documents provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden showed the U.S. government was using its surveillance programs intended to target foreigners to covertly monitor the emails of prominent Muslim-Americans, including attorneys, professors, a civil rights advocate and a former government official (http://bit.ly/1k43Vn7). The government has previously acknowledged its Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702-authorized surveillance programs incidentally sweep in information about American residents, and a recent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) said the government’s minimization procedures were mostly sufficient to protect the constitutional rights of Americans (CD July 3 p5). The new revelations show this isn’t the case, EFF’s Rumold said. “The government’s surveillance of prominent Muslim activists based on constitutionally protected activity fails the test of a democratic society that values freedom of expression, religious freedom, and adherence to the rule of law.” EFF represents the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the founder of which, Nihad Awad, was one of those the government is reportedly monitoring. This type of surveillance is a “stain on our nation,” said Rumold, saying the revelations emphasize the need for legislation to alter the government’s surveillance programs. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Justice said jointly Wednesday that it’s “entirely false that U.S. intelligence agencies conduct electronic surveillance of political, religious or activist figures solely because they disagree with public policies or criticize the government, or for exercising constitutional rights.” Without addressing any of the individuals mentioned in the report, the agencies said that “with limited exceptions (for example, in an emergency), our intelligence agencies must have a court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to target any U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for electronic surveillance.” If the court finds an individual “is an agent of a foreign power under this rigorous standard,” that person “is not exempted just because of his or her occupation,” the agencies said.