Privacy and Government Surveillance
Government surveillance is nothing new, but the September 11th attacks gave the Bush administration an excuse to expand surveillance programs even further.
Where Do They Get These Wonderful Toys?
If government surveillance seems like a more frightening idea now than it did forty years ago, when even fewer safeguards existed, then it may be because technology has advanced to a point where the government can surreptitiously collect, and efficiently manage, information on a vast number of Americans.
Total Information Awareness
In 2002 and 2003, U.S. military officials created a data mining project that looked like something out of a bad science fiction novel: Total Information Awareness, which promised to keep tabs on us all. The fact that its official symbol prominently featured the Eye of Providence didn't help.
The NSA Surveillance Program
In December 2005, the New York Times reported that the Bush administration had been wiretapping private telephone conversations without obtaining search warrants, in violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The ACLU is currently fighting the program in court, with some success.
The NSA Universal Telephone Database
In May 2006, USA Today reported that the Bush administration is also attempting to compile a universal database of telephone calls made in the United States.
- Read more: NSA Assembling Universal Telephone Database
The 2007 Postal Signing Statement
In January 2007, President Bush issued a signing statement claiming federal authority to search packages, without a warrant, in "exigent circumstances." Whether this represents a real shift in policy, or simple acknowledgment of the fact that postal inspectors have always claimed this authority, is not yet clear.
