Oct 13 Watch 7:29 Why tech companies may be winning the encryption argument By PBS News Hour Ever since Edward Snowden released information about the extent of secret U.S. surveillance, a battle has been growing between tech companies and the government over access to data. New reports suggest the Obama administration may be backing down on its… Continue watching
Sep 10 Homeland Security taking to the sky in drug smuggling fight By Alicia A. Caldwell, Associated Press ABOVE THE CARIBBEAN SEA — As soon as the aging P-3 surveillance plane rumbles off the island runway, a crew of three agents for U.S. Customs and Border Protection begins hunting with high-tech radar for anything that looks out of… Continue reading
Aug 18 Pentagon to increase drone flights by 50 percent By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. — Faced with escalating aggression from Russia and China, the Pentagon is planning to increase its use of drones by about 50 percent over the next several years. Continue reading
Aug 15 AT&T cooperated extensively with NSA, Snowden documents reveal By Daniel Costa-Roberts New documents released by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden show that telecommunications giant AT&T was for years the most cooperative and prolific provider of Internet and phone data to the NSA… Continue reading
Jun 03 6 things to know about the newly approved USA Freedom Act By Ken Dilanian, Associated Press President Barack Obama has signed into law the USA Freedom Act, which extends three expiring surveillance provisions of the 9/11-era USA Patriot Act. It also overhauls the most controversial provision, which had been interpreted to allow bulk collection of U.S. Continue reading
Jun 02 Watch 5:10 How the FBI is using a ‘small air force’ to track suspects By PBS News Hour According to the Associated Press, the FBI operates a fleet of undercover planes equipped with video cameras, some of which can also gather cell phone data. The FBI says these flights target suspected criminals, and that a warrant is not… Continue watching
Jun 01 Watch 6:12 What happens now that the NSA isn’t logging your calls By PBS News Hour For the first time in nearly 14 years, the National Security Agency is no longer allowed to log every time an American picks up the telephone to call someone. Overnight, three key provisions of the Patriot Act were allowed by… Continue watching
May 30 Will lapse in surveillance laws make the U.S. less secure? By Ken Dilanian, Associated Press Barring a last-minute deal in Congress, three post-Sept. 11 surveillance laws used against spies and terrorists are set to expire as Sunday turns into Monday… Continue reading
May 08 5 things to know about the NSA court ruling By Ken Dilanian, Associated Press WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court has declared illegal the National Security Agency program that collects data on the landline calling records of nearly every American. The ruling Thursday, the first of its kind by an appeals court, comes as… Continue reading
Apr 09 Baltimore police often surveil cellphones amid U.S. secrecy By Jack Gillum, Juliet Linderman, Associated Press BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Police Department has an agreement with the U.S. government to withhold certain information about secretive cellphone surveillance technology from the public and even the courts, according to a confidential agreement obtained by The Associated Press. On… Continue reading