The Federal Bureau of Investigation collects data on individuals not suspected of any crime through a controversial section of the Patriot Act, according to a watchdog report, while the debate on that ability and its supposed strengths rages on.
The report, an analysis of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s
use of Sec. 215 of the Patriot Act to acquire so-called business
records, was released on Thursday of this week by the DOJ’s
Office of the Inspector General, and raises concerns over the
FBI’s reluctance to implement changes to the program despite
years of recommendations.
According to the OIG analysis, the FBI is on track to collect
more types of records than ever before through its Sec. 215
authority, notwithstanding concerns over the bureau’s inability
to adopt minimization procedures, and the degree of incidental
surveillance Americans are increasingly subject to.
“The report notes that the scope of business records sought under
Section 215 greatly expanded in response to legislative changes,
technological advances and strategic choices, and that Section
215 orders have been used in investigations of groups comprised
of unknown members and to obtain information in bulk concerning
persons who are not the subjects of or associated with any FBI
investigation,” reads part of the report’s executive
summary.
“The agents we interviewed did not identify any major case
developments that resulted from use of the records obtained in
response to Section 215 orders, but told us that the material
produced...was valuable in that it was used to support other
investigative requests, develop investigative leads and
corroborate other information,’’ the report concluded.
FBI agents told the #DOJ IG that secret Section 215 orders haven't led to any "major case developments." pic.twitter.com/1PEG0Xky7P
— Brad Heath (@bradheath) May 21, 2015
Under the government’s interpretation of Sec. 215, authorities
can compel third-party entities to surrender customer records if
the evidence is relevant to an investigation. According to this
week’s report, however, that “authority continues to
expand” as investigators broaden their understanding of the
law and, in turn, “lowered the evidentiary threshold”
for using Sec. 215.
Once the FBI decides it wants to use its Patriot Act powers, the
report reads, it must ask the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act Court, or FISA Court, for approval. According to the report,
the FISA Court approved all 51 requests sent by the FBI between
2007 and 2009.
But because the latest report is highly redacted – sometimes for
pages at a time – the true extent of what is and isn’t collected
under Sec. 215 authorities is still unknown. Sen. Richard Burr
(R-North Carolina), a chair on his chamber’s Intelligence
Committee, said during a discussion on Capitol Hill earlier this
month that the government collects web data of Americans in bulk
through Sec. 215. He then backtracked on his remarks soon after.
READ MORE: Rand Paul filibusters NSA surveillance
in Congress
This week’s report marks the third time since 2002 that the
Justice Department’s watchdog has weighed in on the FBI’s use of
Sec. 215 authorities; a power which is expected to sunset at the
end of the month unless a resolution is reached in Congress to
renew it in the coming days.
A national debate has been brewing concerning government-waged
surveillance in the 23 months since Edward Snowden, a former
contractor for the National Security Agency, disclosed documents
exposing the scope of the eavesdropping programs employed by
federal agencies in secrecy up until then. Among the first
revelations made through the Snowden leaks was proof that the NSA
uses Sec. 215 authority to compel telecommunication companies to
hand over the records of millions of Americans on a regular
basis. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) led a nearly 10-hour
filibuster on Wednesday of this week in an effort to keep
Congress from reauthorizing that Patriot Act power.
The inspector general report reveals that the FBI was told during
past analyses to adopt requirements that would limit the type of
information collected through Sec. 215 pertaining to American
citizens, but that those changes took years to even begin to be
implemented.
Very informative table contained in new DOJ report shows the type of business records the FBI collects under Sec. 215 pic.twitter.com/i8xM2eoIk6
— Andrew Blake (@apblake) May 21, 2015
“Given the significance of minimization procedures…” the
Inspector General’s office wrote, “...we do not believe it
should have taken seven years for the [DoJ] to develop
minimization procedures or five years to address the OIG
recommendation that the [DoJ] comply with the statutory
requirement to develop specific minimization procedures designed
for business records.”
The OIG notes that the data of innocent Americans continued to be
collected for years without adoption of the recommended
safeguards.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Snowden himself appeared on the Reddit
website for a rare question-and-answer session discussing Senator
Paul’s filibuster the night before.
“Some claim the Senate should keep Section 215 of the Patriot
Act (which will be voted on in two days) because we need ‘more
time for debate,’ but even in the US, the public has already
decided: 60% oppose reauthorization,” Snowden responded to
one question. “This unconstitutional mass surveillance
program was revealed in June 2013 and has been struck down by
courts twice since then. If two years and two courts aren’t
enough to satisfy them, what is?”