US intensifying survillance of American citizens - PressTV 101203

www.presstv.com Colin Campbell, Press TV, Washington The American Civil Liberties Union says the government repeatedly violated legal limits governing the surveillance of citizens. A report from the legal non-profit says the government failed to release telephone, e-mail or other communications that had been intercepted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act - or FISA - Act of 2008. The oversight reports were released in a 900 page document. The documents indicate that there were violations of laws surveilling the public, and that compliance breakdowns happened frequently according to an article in the Washington Post. ACLU’s Melissa Goodman, an attorney on the case said, "It is imperative that there be more public disclosure about the FAA [FISA Amendments Act] violations described in these documents . . . as Congress begins to debate whether the FAA should expire or be amended." The ACLU says US citizens communications were either being improperly collected or 'targeted' or improperly retained and disseminated and federal agencies are being less than forthcoming about how the information was used under FISA. FISA gained popularity in 1978 to prevent Americans' communications from being tapped without a warrant. Lawmakers amended the law in 2008 to broaden and clarify legal authorities after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. But some experts say Congress is abusing the law. ACLU human rights activists sued the government over its use of FISA. They said that the new law ...

Channel: YouTube Video Length: 2m 26s Date Found: Sat, Dec 04 2010 2:00 PM Category: News Date Produced: Sat, Dec 04 2010 1:22 PM View Count: 0