News Articles related to FOIA Litigation for Accountable Government
FBI Rescinds Secret Order for Internet Archive Records
Anne Broache, CNET
The FBI has backed down on a secret request for information about a user of the Internet Archive digital library, thanks to a legal challenge from two prominent advocacy groups.
The case, which was brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the archive, dates to last year but only became public on Wednesday. That's because the type of request involved, known as a national security letter (NSL), is accompanied by a gag order that forbids the recipient from disclosing its existence or discussing it with anyone except his attorneys, who are also gagged. As a result of a settlement, the FBI agreed to withdraw the national security letter and to lift the gag order.
FBI Targets Internet Archive With Secret 'National Security Letter', Loses
Ryan Singel, Wired News
The Internet Archive, a project to create a digital library of the web for posterity, successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the order public, civil liberties groups announced Wednesday morning.
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The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive's lawyers, fought the NSL, challenging its constitutionality in a December 14 complaint to a federal court in San Francisco. The FBI agreed on April 21 to withdraw the letter and unseal the court case, making some of the documents available to the public.
Just Between Us
Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, Newsweek
The Bush administration is refusing to disclose internal e-mails, letters and notes showing contacts with major telecommunications companies over how to persuade Congress to back a controversial surveillance bill, according to recently disclosed court documents.
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The existence of these documents surfaced only in recent days as a result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by a privacy group called the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The foundation (alerted to the issue in part by a NEWSWEEK story last fall) is seeking information about communications among administration officials, Congress and a battery of politically well-connected lawyers and lobbyists hired by such big telecom carriers as AT&T and Verizon. Court papers recently filed by government lawyers in the case confirm for the first time that since last fall unnamed representatives of the telecoms phoned and e-mailed administration officials to talk about ways to block more than 40 civil suits accusing the companies of privacy violations because of their participation in a secret post-9/11 surveillance program ordered by the White House.
FBI Gained Unauthorized Access to E-Mail
Eric Lichtblau, New York Times
According to a document obtained by EFF through the Freedom of Information Act, an "apparent miscommunication" resulted in unauthorized FBI access to an entire domain's email, rather than the single email account the Bureau had permission to monitor.
Clarity Sought on Electronics Searches
Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post
The Washington Post reported on EFF's partnership with the Asian Law Caucus to bring a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that will force the government to disclose its policies and procedures on border searches, including which rules govern the seizing, copying, storage and distribution information on electronic devices such as laptops.
FBI Email Shows Rift Over Warrantless Phone Record Grabs
Ryan Singel, Wired News
An internal email obtained by EFF from the FBI showed a field agent venting about his colleagues' assertive surveillance efforts, including attempts to sidestep court order requirements to get phone records from service providers.
FBI Recorded 27 Million FISA 'Sessions' in 2006
Ryan Singel, Wired Blog
EFF FOIA documents show that the FBI intercepted 27,728,675 "sessions" in fiscal year 2006 through surveillance technology that monitors telephone communications of suspected spies and terrorists. In contrast, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved a mere 2,176 FBI requests for court-ordered surveillance in 2006.
Declassified Docs Show Fight Over Surveillance, Telecom Immunity
Declan McCullagh, CNET
Documents released through an EFF Freedom of Information Act suit revealed how high-level Administration officials have pushed Congress to amend federal surveillance law and immunize telecommunications companies from lawsuits based on their complicity in unlawful government surveillance.
U.S. Judge Orders Bush to Release Records of Telecom Firm Contacts
Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on a federal court's decision that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence must release records to EFF detailing contacts with telecommunications companies related to a lobbying campaign to immunize the carriers from lawsuits over their role in unlawful government surveillance of millions of Americans.
Pentagon Review Faults Bank Record Demands
Mark Mazzetti and Eric Lichtblau, New York Times
Documents obtained by EFF through the Freedom of Information Act provided a glimpse into the Defense Department's use of National Security Letters to collect bank and credit information in certain Pentagon investigations. The documents revealed that the Defense Department has made systematic errors in its use of NSLs, much like those that the FBI has committed over the past few years.
