What is the historical background of surveillance?
Modern Military / Society / Cyber Security
Let’s take a brief look at the history of surveillance in the United States Justice Department:
Early surveillance efforts
In the early years of the Justice Department, surveillance was primarily used to monitor suspected anarchists, socialists, and other political radicals. This surveillance was often conducted without warrants or other legal authority, and was the subject of significant controversy and criticism.
The 1950s and 1960s
The Justice Department’s FBI created a program called COINTELPRO, which aimed to disrupt and neutralize political organizations deemed “subversive” by the government. COINTELPRO involved a wide range of surveillance techniques, including wiretapping, break-ins, and the use of informants. Many of these tactics were illegal, and COINTELPRO was eventually exposed and disbanded.
CIA Deputy Director Jennifer Ewbank Sits Down With Rebellion Research
CIA Director David Petraeus on Intelligence Today
Post-9/11 surveillance
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center & the Pentagon, the Justice Department dramatically expanded its surveillance activities. The USA PATRIOT Act gave law enforcement agencies broad new powers to monitor phone and internet communications, conduct secret searches, and track individuals’ movements.
Furthermore, these efforts have continued to evolve over the years, with the government relying increasingly on sophisticated data-mining techniques and other forms of high-tech surveillance.
As one of our favorite legal minds, Yale Law School’s Logan Beirne points out:
2015’s Klayman v. Obama
Judge Richard J. Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the NSA tracking all Americans’ phone calls is “probably unconstitutional.” Furthermore “such a program infringes on ‘the degree of privacy’ that the Founders enshrined in the Fourth Amendment…the author of our Constitution, James Madison, who cautioned us to beware ‘the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power,’ would be aghast.”
Snowden revelations
In 2013, former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden leaked classified documents (in a dangerous fashion) revealing the extent of the government’s surveillance activities, including the bulk collection of phone and internet data from millions of Americans. As a result, the revelations sparked a major public debate about the balance between privacy and security. Furthermore, led to the supposed reforms of some surveillance programs.
What is the historical background of surveillance?
