PROJECT FOR PRIVACY & SURVEILLANCE ACCOUNTABILITY
PPSA is a nonpartisan group of U.S. citizens who advocate for greater protection of our privacy and civil liberties in government surveillance programs.
FEATURED NEWS & BLOG POSTS
LATEST ACTIONS:
11/11/21: PPSA Files Motion to Force Agencies to Disclose Spying on Congress
9/28/21: PPSA Files Brief in FBI v. Fazaga: Highlights Absurd Twisting of Rules by FBI Agents to Evade Accountability
9/8/21: PPSA Joins Coalition in Urging President to Fill Out PCLOB Board with Qualified Nominees
9/7/21: PPSA Files Lawsuit Today to Learn: Does the FBI Spy on Members of Congress Who Question Its Surveillance, Unmasking Practices?
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. |