UPDATE (06/25/20): PPSA Asks Intel Chief, U.S. Attorney, If Unmasking Illegally Used to Spy on Political Opponents​

Is illegal activity occurring? Bob Goodlatte, former House Judiciary Committee chairman and senior advisor to the Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability (PPSA), and PPSA general counsel Gene Schaerr, asked John Bash – the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas tasked by Attorney General William Barr to investigate the use of unmasking before and after the 2016 election – to reach “a conclusion regarding whether illegal activity occurred.”

​Our mission is to advocate in the public arena and before Congress for guidelines and audits to hold these secret programs accountable to constitutional and statutory protections.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution affirms our right to be secure in our “persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” 

ISSUE SPOTLIGHT

Unmasking

When American citizens get caught up in foreign surveillance, intelligence agencies and powerful public officials can “unmask” their identities, supposedly on strict need-to-know rules. 

​Recent high-profile controversies and multiple investigations reveal a potential to use unmasking to conduct political surveillance against political rivals. Such unmasking continues to risk sharply. 
​      
Parallel Construction 

FISA exists to enable the U.S. government to conduct counterintelligence and counter-terrorism operations legally. When other criminal activity is incidentally discovered, it can be noted and passed on to the appropriate authorities. But FISA was never meant to be a treasure trove for traditional law enforcement agencies, a massive database of intercepts from foreign communications and international telephone records that is used to investigate and prosecute U.S. citizens on matters unrelated to national security. 

Solutions to Protect Privacy &
Restore Appropriate Legal Protections

FEATURED NEWS & BLOG POSTS

PPSA & PRI Join Forces, File Amicus Brief in Supreme Court
Picture
March 3, 2020 -- ​WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability (PPSA) and the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court today in Institute for Free Speech v. Becerra, No. 19-793, a case challenging California’s requirement that certain  non-profits must disclose to the California Attorney General the names and addresses of major donors or else be barred from soliciting donations in that state. 
BIG BREAK ON 215!!!
Picture
Thursday, February 27, 2020 -- ​WASHINGTON, D.C. – One of the brighter spots in the effort to reform Section 215 – the provision that gives the government easy access to some of our most personal information held by businesses – came at 1 PM when President Trump retweeted Rep. Jim Jordan, “Now is our chance to fix it.” In these seven words, the president definitively broke with Attorney General Barr, who wanted a “clean” or unreformed extension of Section 215. It places the president squarely in the camp of bipartisan leaders from Rep. Zoe Lofgren to Rep. Jordan, from Sen. Mike Lee to Sen. Patrick Leahy.
UPDATE: Government Sends Rapid “Neither Confirm Nor Deny” Response To PPSA's Query About Surveillance of Two Congressional Committee
Wednesday, February 11, 2020 -- ​WASHINGTON, D.C. – Four business days after receiving a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence answered the civil liberties organization with a “Glomar response.”
PPSA Files Freedom of Information Act Requests:
Are Members of Two Congressional Committees Being Surveilled? 
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 -- ​WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to Washington’s intelligence community – the FBI, CIA, NSA, ODNI, the Department of Justice and the Department of State. This request demands information related to the possible electronic surveillance of Members of Congress serving on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 
PPSA Submits Two Freedom of Information Act Requests to the Department of Justice & FBI
Friday, January 17, 2020 -- ​On Tuesday, the Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability submitted two Freedom of Information Act requests to the Department of Justice and the FBI, seeking any and all communications between department officials and David S. Kris since he resigned as President Obama's Deputy Attorney General for the National Security Division in early 2011.
PPSA Statement On Today's Release of Inspector General Michael Horowitz's FISA Report
Monday, December 9, 2019 -- ​It's clear. The deficiencies of the FBI's FISA performance are symptoms of a broken system – US surveillance law needs statutory reform. Here's why: 
PPSA Statement on Surveillance Program, Section 215
Tuesday, November 19, 2019 -- ​Erik Jaffe, president of the Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability (PPSA) reacted to the decision by the leadership of the House Judiciary Committee to delay long-term reauthorization of Section 215 until early next year.
PPSA OPINION: The Patriot Act Goes Too Far
Picture
Section 215 needs major reforms to safeguard core American liberties from government overreach.

​To keep America safe, does the Federal Bureau of Investigation really need almost unfettered access to Americans’ health records, DNA test results, and even private conversations overheard by digital assistants like Alexa and Siri? News broke earlier this month that the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court had admonished the FBI for illegally spying on Americans tens of thousands of times. The court’s reprimand of the FBI’s “unduly lax” treatment of foreign surveillance powers—meant for spies and terrorists—raises equally pressing concerns about its domestic surveillance authority.
PPSA OPINION: Democrats must question possible political surveillance 
Picture
​With the House debating impeachment of President Trump based on a complaint from a whistleblower within the intelligence community, we run the risk of partisan positions about surveillance only becoming more embedded. 

When special Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutor John Durham soon completes his investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation, a Republican senator almost surely will question reported FBI surveillance of Trump campaign officials and consultants in 2016. A Democrat will express concern about the ability of the government to stop Russians from targeting Democratic presidential candidates in 2020.

A strange role reversal has occurred. For decades, when intelligence agencies and their operations were publicly denounced, Republicans invoked national security concerns and leapt to their defense. The Democrats were the civil libertarians, dragging secret surveillance into the disinfecting light of day.
PPSA ALERT: News Alert: Pacific Research Institute & Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability File Amicus Brief in Support of Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Xavier Becerra
The Pacific Research Institute and Project for Privacy and Accountability have filed an Amicus brief supporting Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP) in its lawsuit against the Attorney General of the State of California, Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Xavier Becerra. 
​
The California law in question requires charitable organizations to disclose to the state information on their biggest donors, a requirement the AFP contends endangers the First Amendment rights of donors. 
PPSA OPINION: Congress should defy Dan Coats' last request on phone surveillance
Picture
On his way out the door as director of national intelligence, Dan Coats asked Congress to permanently extend legal authority for a National Security Agency (NSA) program that allows the government to see who we call and text.

How much does such “metadata” on calling records say about us?
​
More than you might think. A Stanford University study, presented in 2016, collected metadata — such as the numbers we call or text, how long we are on the phone — from the smartphones of 823 volunteers. From their 250,000 calls and 1.2 million texts, researchers gained insights about individuals’ religious beliefs, heart and neurological conditions, gun purchases and, in one case, a decision to schedule an abortion.
PPSA OPINION: Unmasking the unmaskers
Picture
Attorney General William Barr drew stern objections from Democrats when he told Congress he believes “spying” occurred on the 2016 Trump campaign. He doubled down by unleashing U.S. Attorney John Durham to investigate the origins of the FBI’s Russia investigation.

Liberals, mindful of leaker Edward Snowden’s revelation that the government had hoovered up Americans’ metadata under the last Republican president, are worried about the potential for warrantless surveillance under the current Republican president, whom Bernie Sanders accuses of being an “authoritarian leader.” Amid all this acrimony, Republicans and Democrats should realize we all need to better understand and control the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a law under which intelligence and law enforcement agencies can ensnare conversations between unwitting Americans and foreigners.
PPSA COMMENTARY: John Durham Must Investigate 'Unmasking'
Picture
Partisans may cheer or jeer prosecutor John Durham, appointed by Attorney General William Barr to investigate how the FBI came to investigate Russian involvement in the Trump 2016 campaign. Of deeper interest to thoughtful people across the political spectrum is the light this investigation may shed on abuses of government surveillance that have occurred under both Republican and Democratic administrations. 

Given Durham’s reputation for being both fearless and fair, the U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut seems ideal for the job: He has investigated government misconduct ranging from the fiasco surrounding Boston mobster Whitey Bulger to CIA “enhanced interrogation” methods. 

YOUR PRIVACY. YOUR CALL. TAKE ACTION NOW!