Policy Observatory

EPIC's brief on aerial surveillance

Mon 8 Dec 2014, 23:40

EPIC argued that warrantless surveillance around a person's home violates both property interests and an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy. EPIC also warned the New Mexico high court that "Drones will enable broader use of aerial surveillance by law enforcement" agencies. EPIC explained that "it will be necessary to establish privacy rights to protect against constant monitoring."

Tags: unmanned aerial vehicles, UAV, State v. Davis, EPIC, amicus brief, drones, New Mexico high court, monitoring, warrant, privacy, aerial law enforcement surveillance

US federal court says video surveillance without a warrant is illegal

Sat 13 Dec 2014, 01:00

US federal court says six weeks of continually video recording the frontyard of someone's home without a search warrant violates the Fourth Amendment. In United States v. Vargas local police in rural Washington suspected Vargas of drug trafficking. In April 2013, police installed a camera on top of a utility pole overlooking his home. Even though police did not have a warrant, they nonetheless pointed the camera at his front door and driveway and began watching every day. A month later, police observed Vargas shoot some beer bottles with a gun and because Vargas was an undocumented immigrant, they had probable cause to believe he was illegally possessing a firearm. They used the video surveillance to obtain a warrant to search his home, which uncovered drugs and guns, leading to a federal indictment against Vargas.

Tags: Fourth Amendment, US federal court, EFF, Unites States vs Vargas, video recording, warrant, surveillance

US new proposal to stop warrantless reading of emails

Thu 5 Feb 2015, 10:00

Legislation that aims to put a stop to warrantless reading of emails got a fillip Wednesday with bills introduced both in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives to amend the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

The bipartisan “Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2015” will require the government to have a search warrant to obtain the content of Americans’ emails and other electronic communications stored with a third-party service provider, even if it is older than 180 days.

It will also require that the government notify the person whose account was disclosed, and provide him with a copy of the search warrant and other details about the information obtained. The notice has to be provided within 10 business days of receipt of the communications for a law enforcement agency, and three business days for other agencies, unless a court order to delay notification is obtained.

Tags: Electronic Communications Privacy Act, law enforcement, privacy, warrant, surveillance

US lawmakers introduce two bills to protect email privacy

Fri 13 Feb 2015, 02:00

A long-standing effort to extend privacy protections to email and other data in the cloud got new life Thursday when U.S. lawmakers introduced not one, but two bills to reform the country’s electronic privacy laws.

Both the Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act, called the LEADS Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Amendments Act would require law enforcement agencies to get court-ordered warrants to search data that’s been stored on Web-based or cloud-based services for more than 180 days.

Under the 29-year-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act [ECPA], law enforcement agencies do not need a court-ordered warrant to search unopened email stored with a vendor for longer than 180 days, although they do need court approval to access unopened email less than 180 days old.

Tags: warrant, email privacy bills, electronic communications

Judge rules for NSA in warrantless search case

Mon 16 Feb 2015, 12:10

A U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled in favor of the National Security Agency in a lawsuit challenging the interception of Internet communications without a warrant, according to a court filing. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White in Oakland, California wrote the plaintiffs failed to establish legal standing to pursue a claim that the government violated the Fourth Amendment.

The ruling is the latest in litigation over the government's ability to monitor Internet traffic, and how it balances national security priorities against privacy.

Tags: NSA, court ruling, Internet, security, privacy, warrant, interception, surveillance

EFF supports early push in Congress to update online privacy law

Thu 26 Feb 2015, 23:40

Within the first month of Congress we've seen over four bills to update the archaic Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which is the law that's been used by the Department of Justice to obtain emails and the location of your mobile device without a probable cause warrant. This is in clear violation of legal cases interpreting the Fourth Amendment.

Tags: electronic communications, privacy, warrant