A surveillance program to counter foreign threats continues to be used heavily against US citizens. According to court documents released Friday, the FBI (Federal Police) has made 278,000 inappropriate requests in the last few years.
These “non-compliant” requests were aimed in particular at people arrested on the fringes of the major anti-racist demonstrations of 2020, victims of crime or participants in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, writes the court responsible for overseeing the activities of espionage made many details unrecognizable in a document.
FBI agents have combed through a database set up to gather information about communications by foreign nationals — who don’t enjoy the same legal protections as Americans — related to countering terrorism or other foreign threats.
These requests are directed to the National Security Agency (NSA), which is responsible for collecting these emails, photos, videos, and other documents. She has acknowledged in the past that data about Americans has also been collected indirectly or accidentally.
Law enforcement agencies have the right to use it to gather information about foreign threats or evidence of crime. However, according to the court, this framework was exceeded.
According to his inventory, which was sent to the FBI to ask him for reforms, one agent even asked for information on 19,000 donors who had contributed to a congressional candidate’s campaign.
The revelations come as Section 702 of the Outdoor Surveillance Act (Fisa), which created these surveillance programs, is about to expire and many elected officials are reluctant to extend it in its current form.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden was moved by the “shocking violations” in a statement. “If Section 702 were renewed, it would need to be reformed to provide better controls and put an end to these abuses,” he added.