30,000 secret surveillance orders demanded annually to spy on Americans

A federal judge estimates that his fellow federal judges issue a total of 30,000 secret electronic surveillance orders each year—and the number is probably growing. Though such orders have judicial oversight, few emerge from any sort of adversarial proceeding and many are never unsealed at all. Those innocent of any crime are unlikely to know they have ever been the target of an electronic search. In a new paper, called "Gagged, Sealed & Delivered" (PDF), US Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith bashes this culture of continuing secrecy. (Magistrate judges are important members of the federal judiciary; they handle many of the more routine judicial matters, such as warrant applications and initial case management.)

arstechnica.com...

Even without CISPA on the books, the federal government can still use antiquated legislation to leer into the personal communications of Americans. One judge, in fact, says that thousands are approved each year. It’s been more than a quarter of a century since the US Congress authorized the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986, but the incredibly outdated legislation is still used each and every day to let federal agents find out personal and private information by combing through emails, texts and any other form of online correspondence. Kade Crockford is a privacy rights coordinator with the American Civil Liberties Union and is fighting to make sure that ECPA is laid to rest.

Crockford’s calls to end ECPA comes after US Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith examined the surveillance orders that have been authorized since the birth of the legislation and learned that unassuming eyes are allowed to access private information tens of thousands of times a year. In his report, “Gagged, Sealed and Delivered,” Judge Smith adds that it’s “reasonable to infer that far more law-abiding citizens than criminals have been tracked” under a certain subsection of ECPA.

“What the judge magistrate’s report shows is that the rules that ECPA put in place over 25 years ago are willfully inadequate, primarily because they don’t allow even Congress, let alone the general public, to know how many of these orders are being issued,” says Crockford, “because there are gag, sealed and blindfold provisions which prevent people from even knowing how many of these orders are out there.”

endthelie.com...

I can only imagine all the things they are doing. I am infuriated that we are being spied on as if we are criminals or terrorists. This just makes me all the more angry. Gag, sealed? Wthey? Were you guys aware of this? And more law abiding citizens were tracked than criminals.

Anyway, if not, I thought you guys should be alerted to these going ons whatever they may be: This was news to me.

With all the high tech gadgetry, there is no telling what things they could possibly be using/doing to us.

How does it feel to be surveilled? ...Some of you have the ''if you have nothing to hide'' attitude ... but imo it violates my rights/freedoms and is ridiculous!

Your thoughts /comments appreciated. Thank you in advance.

reply to post by SeekerLou


as long as people don't yell "FIRE" in a crowded Theater.... as the saying goes.. we're ok..

we have freedom of Expression.. we can even use Potty-mouth verbs--

but IF ,, the Moment of Expression Causes FEAR. or relays thoughts of DAMAGE to another, or institution,.

i say its OK to let em look into "threats"..

and i'll go to a Crowded Fire,,, and Yell "THEATER" all i want...

OP, infuriating is not a strong enough word. Things are about to pop off, and we Americans are either unaware, or unequipt to fight this machine our tax dollars have funded. The MSM could come out and say we have brain penetrating lasers, and people will clap for it. I'm aware that a certain number of our people will die, before the masses stop scratching their heads, we are descending into tyranny, and people are not catching on fast enough. They're leaving the vocal few out in the inersection, to be flattened by a Govenment tractor trailer, while they speed on to saftey, soon that Government tractor trailer will make a left hand turn, and be on their a$$es, by then its too late.

Originally posted by SeekerLou

How does it feel to be surveilled?

Some of you have the ''if you have nothing to hide'' attitude ... but imo it violates my rights/freedoms and is ridiculous!

Personally, I'd be flattered. 30,000 people being surveilled and I'm not one of them? I'd feel like Charlie Brown, ya know? What, I'm not important enough? If I had a problem with it though I'd have fun with it. Mess with them. Make them kind of sorry that they came to the party uninvited. Make them always question if I'm serious about something or not, while the people I DID invite to the party are left without questioning my intentions.

What I don't understand is how it violates your rights/freedoms. You have the right to free speech. How does being spied on in such a way that you don't know when or how it's happening violate that right? You still say what you want to right? Violating my right to free speech and/or the freedom to come and go as I please would involve censoring what I say or physically keeping me from going where I want. Spying on people does neither of those things.

reply to post by Taupin Desciple


I think what scares me is our Gov can indenfinately detain, without a trial. Who is to say you're not a terrorist because of a phone call, that the government listened to. The spying is a petext to detaining, the dots are coming together. None of us want to disapear in the middle of the night, because someone had a hunch. What are they going to use next? Precogs, like in minority report?

Originally posted by kat2684
reply to post by Taupin Desciple

 

I think what scares me is our Gov can indenfinately detain, without a trial. Who is to say you're not a terrorist because of a phone call, that the government listened to. The spying is a petext to detaining, the dots are coming together. None of us want to disapear in the middle of the night, because someone had a hunch. What are they going to use next? Precogs, like in minority report?

I agree. I think they have too much power as is - they are so eager to ''control'' every aspect of our being now... it's ridiculous! Yeah, our rights and freedoms are being trampled upon right and left. This is just another tactic /ace up their sleeve. Curious nobodies like me and maybe you, are being labeled daily as terrorists just because of asking questions these days.. If we are patriotic, or stand for freedom in any way , we're resistors.....If we pay by cash, gee we could be a terrorist now, etc. TSA SOPA NDAA look it up. OUr freedoms/ liberties and America has just about gone to Hell in a handbag. So many seem to not even care anymore or think nothing of it ... they say, ''all it is ok'' .. ''it's in your best interest''... "if you have nothing to hide"..blah blah BS! attitudes like that need jarring..imo...... I could go on and on but will refrain. I usually let others do my speaking for me... I may not come across too well and am not of eloquent speech as some of you who say it way better.

I'm jumbled inside with all kinds of thoughts/feelings but can never seem to express myself as well as you guys do ... so my hats off to you.