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Radio Communication Act
Guaranteed the privacy of electronic communication via a telegraph. -
Espionage Act
After WWI, this act was to prohibit interference with military operations, support of US enemies and prevent military insubordination. -
Black Chamber (Cipher)
Created at the end of WWI -Predecessor to NSA. They continued illegally monitoring telegrams until their funding ran out in 1929. -
Operation Shamrock
During WWII, Army initiative. Like the Black Chamber, the group monitored communication, telegraphs, etc sent to and from the US in search of information that could affect national security - this illegally continued after the war was over. -
National Security Agency (NSA) created
The mission is to protect U.S. national security systems and to produce foreign signals intelligence information. -
Griswold v. CT
The law suit revolved around the fact that a married couple has a right of privacy that cannot be infringed upon by a state law. The case was really about contraception but it established a precedence that resulted in the establishment of the Privacy Act in 1974. -
The Privacy Act
The act establishes a code of fair information practices that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies. -
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)
This act limited the powers of the NSA and put in place a process of warrants and judicial review. This Act effectively served a purpose until September 11, 2001. -
Smith v. Maryland
The court held that the Fourth Amendment’s privacy protections do not extend to telephone call record. -
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Patriot Act
Law enforcement officers are allowed to search a home or business without the owner’s or the occupant’s consent or knowledge. The 2001 Patriot Act expanded the ability for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (and other law enforcement agencies) to conduct surveillance and search telephone, library, e-mail, business records, and financial records without a court order. -
Total Information Awareness (TIA) Data Mining Project
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) developed a system to analyze data. The purpose was so the government could track potential terrorists and criminals. -
Department of Homeland Security created
Following 9/11 terrorist attacks, in November 2002, Congress passed the Homeland Security Act. The DHS was created through the integration of 22 different Federal departments and agencies. Their mission is "to prevent attacks and protect Americans - on the land, in the sea and in the air". -
Iraq War
youtube Bush 1.29.02 state of the union Bush 1.29.02 state of the union address: The aftermath of 9/11 caused for heightened security measures. President Bush stated in his 1.29.02 state of the union address that Sadam's regime continued to "flaunt its hostility toward America," "support terror," and break its international agreements. It was also to prevent their production of weapons of mass destruction. -
NSA Monitoring US Phone calls
Discovered by USA Today- NSA is using data to analyze call patterns in order to detect terrorist activity. The program was launched in 2001 shortly after 9/11 but was not discovered until 2006. -
WikiLeaks
Libertarian US Soldier Bradley (Chelsea) Manning - was prosecuted by military for turning over classified military information to Wikileaks. Because, it was said, that by releasing confidential information Manning caused a national security threat for US, in Aug 2013, he was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison. -
Obama Administration gave FBI new power
President Obama authorized new guidelines that enabled federal agents the ability to data-mine vast stores of information about individuals; they could conduct extensive physical surveillance of suspects without concrete evidence of terrorist activity. They were also allowed to interview people under false pretenses and granted a wider range of freedom to rummage through the trash of potential criminals/terrorists. The limitation was they were not allowed to enter religious organizations. -
Clapper vs. Amnesty International
Clapper (Director of National Intelligence) -Numerous groups filed a suit against a new provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that creates "new procedures for authorizing government electronic surveillance" (Oyez, 2012). They challenged the constitutionality (specifically violation of the 1st & 4th amendments) of FISA. In a Supreme court 5-4 vote, the group lost their challenge to stop warrantless wiretapping. -
Boston Marathon Bombing
youtube boston marathon summary Two bombs set off about ten seconds and 100 yards apart at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. By using facial recognition technology, investigators were able to search for two young men. As America watched the events unfold, investigators found the suspects. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot dead and his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was taken into custody. -
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) v. Clapper (case pending)
The lawsuit argues that the NSA surveillance program violates the First Amendment rights of free speech and association as well as the right of privacy protected by the Fourth Amendment. The complaint also charges that the dragnet program exceeds the authority that Congress provided through the Patriot Act. -
Snowden Leaks
Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, leaked classified information that the NSA was monitoring "vast amounts of telephone and Internet conversations both in the U.S. and around the world. The revelations have sparked a debate over the scope of the NSA's activities and whether they are legal" (NPR, 2013). Snowden has been charged with espionage and is living in Russia under temporary asylum. -
First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles v. NSA (case pending)
Filed in the Northern District Court in California. Twenty-two organizations including Unitarian church groups, gun ownership advocates, and a broad coalition of membership and political advocacy organizations filed suit against the National Security Agency for violating their First Amendment right of association by illegally collecting their call records -
USA Freedom Act
USA FREEDOM Act was introduced to significantly limit the collection and use of Americans’ information under our nation’s spying laws. -
Supreme Court Rejects NSA Challenge
The Supreme Court refused to entertain a challenge to stop the NSA's former secret program of telephone spying (disclosed by Snowden).
