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Thread: CIA Collects Information on US Citizens

  1. #1
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    CIA Collects Information on US Citizens

    Senators claim CIA has secret program that collects American data

    The CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected about Americans, two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee said. While neither the agency nor lawmakers would disclose specifics about the data, the senators alleged the CIA had long hidden details about the program from the public and Congress.

    Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico sent a letter to top intelligence officials calling for more details about the program to be declassified. Large parts of the letter, which was sent in April 2021 and declassified Thursday, and documents released by the CIA were blacked out. Wyden and Heinrich said the program operated "outside the statutory framework that Congress and the public believe govern this collection."

    There have long been concerns about what information the intelligence community collects domestically, driven in part by previous violations of Americans' civil liberties. The CIA and National Security Agency have a foreign mission and are generally barred from investigating Americans or U.S. businesses. But the spy agencies' sprawling collection of foreign communications often snares Americans' messages and data incidentally.

    Intelligence agencies are required to take steps to protect U.S. information, including redacting the names of any Americans from reports unless they are deemed relevant to an investigation. The process of removing redactions is known as "unmasking."

    "CIA recognizes and takes very seriously our obligation to respect the privacy and civil liberties of U.S. persons in the conduct of our vital national security mission," Kristi Scott, the agency's privacy and civil liberties officer, said in a statement. "CIA is committed to transparency consistent with our obligation to protect intelligence sources and methods."

    The CIA released a series of redacted recommendations about the program issued by an oversight panel known as the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. According to the document, a pop-up box warns CIA analysts using the program that seeking any information about U.S. citizens or others covered by privacy laws requires a foreign intelligence purpose.

    "However, analysts are not required to memorialize the justification for their queries," the board said.

    Both senators have long pushed for more transparency from the intelligence agencies. Nearly a decade ago, a question Wyden posed to the nation's spy chief presaged critical revelations about the NSA's mass-surveillance programs.

    In 2013, Wyden asked then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper if the NSA collected "any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans." Clapper initially responded, "No." He later said, "Not wittingly."

    Former systems administrator Edward Snowden later that year revealed the NSA's access to bulk data through U.S. internet companies and hundreds of millions of call records from telecommunications providers. Those revelations sparked worldwide controversy and new legislation in Congress.
    Senators claim CIA has secret program that collects American data

  2. #2
    Silly me, I was under the impression it was illegal for the CIA to collect data on Americans.

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  4. #3
    So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Susan View Post
    Silly me, I was under the impression it was illegal for the CIA to collect data on Americans.
    Eisenhower was correct in warning us about the vast military industrial complex, at some point it turned its attention to us. It's all illegal of course but they don't obey laws.

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  6. #4
    I remember the good ole days when news like this was a tinhatters conspiracy theory. Or another click back, when they were concerned with Russian spies.

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    Quote Originally Posted by John View Post
    Eisenhower was correct in warning us about the vast military industrial complex, at some point it turned its attention to us. It's all illegal of course but they don't obey laws.
    Most politicians don't obey laws either. And those who get caught never (rarely?) get justice.

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