In June 2013, Glenn Greenwald, then of The Guardian, broke the first of many stories detailing how the NSA gathers and stores information about innocent Americans. Since then, we have learned that U.S. intelligence agencies are gathering massive amounts of data from phone and internet companies, not just on Americans, but foreign leaders as well.
How and under what circumstances are U.S. intelligence agencies allowed to collect your data? Where does Americans’ data go once they collect it? In this collection of resources, the Brennan Center sheds a much-needed light on how the government is collecting, sharing, and storing data that is not immediately relevant to counterterrorism efforts.
Reports | Analysis | Opinion | Video and Radio Interviews | Press Releases | Commentary | Testimony
- Overseas Surveillance in an Interconnected World (Amos Toh, Faiza Patel, & Elizabeth Goitein, 2016)
- What Went Wrong with the FISA Court (Elizabeth Goitein & Faiza Patel, 2015)
- National Security and Local Police (Michael Price, December 10, 2013)
- Domestic Intelligence: Our Rights and Our Safety (Michael Waldman, Faiza Patel, Liza Goitein, and Emily Berman; November 8, 2013)
- U.S. Surveillance: Unchecked and Unsupervised (Liberty & National Security; November 6, 2013)
- What the Government Does with Americans’ Data (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, October 8, 2013)
- Reducing Overclassification Through Accountability (Elizabeth Goitein & David M. Shapiro, October 5, 2011)
- Vote “NO” on Cloture – S. 139 (FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act) (January 2018)
- Comparison of Key Provisions of FISA Reauthorization Amendments Act (S. 139) and Amash/USA RIGHTS Act Amendment (January 2018)
- Reducing “Incidental” Collection Under FISA Section 702: A Critical Protection for Americans (October 2017)
- Letter to Senate Regarding FISA Section 702 Reauthorization (September 7, 2017)
- Reforming Section 702: We Can Protect Americans’ Privacy and Protect Against Foreign Threats (August 2017)
- Letter to Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats (June 13, 2017)
- Holding Sessions Accountable on Civil Liberties (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, January 9, 2017)
- Letter to the Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the National Security Agency (April 7, 2016)
- How FISA Surveillance Affects Americans: In Search of Answers (Elizabeth Goitein, January 13, 2016)
- Letter to the Director of National Intelligence (January 13, 2016)
- Letter from Office of the Director of National Intelligence (December 23, 2015)
- Brennan Center Submits Comments on PCLOB’s 12333 Plan (June 17, 2015)
- McConnell’s Snowden Amnesia Bill Extends NSA Snooping (April 28, 2015)
- Obama’s Surveillance Reform Promises, One Year Later (April 2, 2015)
- To Protect Our Privacy, Make the FISA Court Act Like a Real Court (March 29, 2015)
- Senate Must Rein in the NSA (June 2, 2014)
- Brennan Center Urges End of Surveillance Under Section 702 (April 11, 2014)
- National Security Whistleblowing: A Gap in the Law (August 21, 2013)
- Are They Allowed to Do That? A Breakdown of Selected Government Surveillance Programs (July 15, 2013)
- Just What Is An FBI Investigation? A Fact Sheet (May 20, 2013)
- Overclassification and National Security Whistleblowing (January 4, 2013)
- The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board’s Disappointing Report on PPD-28 Implementation (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, October 24, 2018)
- Americans’ Privacy at Stake as Second Circuit Hears Hasbajrami FISA Case (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, August 24, 2018)
- A Way Forward on Section 702 Queries (Elizabeth Goitein, Robert Litt, Just Security, February 20, 2018)
- Step Up On FISA Reform, Democrats (Elizabeth Goitein, New York Daily News, January 16, 2018)
- Pelosi – Lead Fight to Block Government Spying on Americans (Elizabeth Goitein, San Francisco Chronicle, January 10, 2018)
- Warrantless Backdoor Searches are Not “Business as Usual” (Elizabeth Goitein and Michael German, Just Security, December 1, 2017)
- The USA Liberty Act — aka Don’t Let the Constitutional be the Enemy of the Unconstitutional (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, November 9, 2017).
- Congress Can’t Compromise on Privacy (Elizabeth Goitein, U.S. News & World Report, November 6, 2017)
- A Chance to Control Domestic Spying (Elizabeth Goitein, New Republic, October 26, 2017)
- Closing Section 702's Front-Door Search Loophole: A Critical Protection for Americans (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, October 24, 2017)
- 'Beyond Snowden’ Falls Short on Upcoming Section 702 Re-authorization Debate (Elizabeth Goitein, Lawfare, September 7, 2017)
- How to Spy on a President (Elizabeth Goitein, Boston Review, March 9, 2017)
- The Same Republicans Who Pushed for Invasive Surveillance Are Complaining About It Now (Elizabeth Goitein, Slate, February 16, 2017)
- The Ninth Circuit’s Constitutional Detour in Mohamud (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, December 8, 2016)
- Trump Will Have Wider Spying Powers than Anything J. Edgar Hoover Ever Imagined (Elizabeth Goitein, Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2016)
- The 702 Reform Debate Is Just Heating Up (Faiza Patel, Just Security, May 16, 2016)
- The FBI’s Warrantless Surveillance Back Door Just Opened a Little Wider (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, April 21, 2016)
- How FISA Surveillance Affects Americans: In Search of Answers (Elizabeth Goitein, January 13, 2016)
- Bulk Collection Under Section 215 Has Ended… What’s Next? (Faiza Patel, Just Security, November 30, 2015)
- The Legal Legacy of the NSA’s Section 215 Bulk Collection Program (Michael Price, Just Security, November 16, 2015)
- Safe Harbor and Reforming Section 702 (Faiza Patel, Just Security, October 22, 2015)
- What Americans Actually Do When the Government Is Watching (Brynne O’Neal, Huffington Post, July 20, 2015)
- The FISC’s Newest Opinion: Proof of the Need for an Amicus (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, June 23, 2015)
- Who Really Wins From NSA Reform? (Elizabeth Goitein, MSNBC, June 5, 2015)
- The Battle Over the Patriot Act (Elizabeth Goitein, CNN, May 30, 2015)
- USA Freedom and the Surveillance Reform That Almost Was (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, May 1, 2015)
- Appointing Democratic Judges to the FISA Court Won’t Solve Its Structural Flaws (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, April 16, 2015)
- The Patriot Act’s Sunset is the Perfect Chance to Make the FISA Court More Like a Real Court (Elizabeth Goitein & Faiza Patel, Just Security, April 13, 2015)
- Fixing the FISA Court by Fixing FISA: A Response to Carrie Cordero (Faiza Patel & Elizabeth Goitein, Lawfare, April 8, 2015)
- Obama’s Surveillance Reform Promises, One Year Later (Elizabeth Goitein, Boston Review, April 2, 2015)
- Reforming the FISA Court (Faiza Patel & Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, March 20, 2015)
- McConnell’s Mistake on USA Freedom (Elizabeth Goitein, The Hill, November 25, 2014)
- It’s Time to Pass the USA Freedom Act—Warts and All (Elizabeth Goitein, Just Security, October 2, 2014)
- Our Privacy and Liberty Still At Risk, Even If Leahy NSA Bill Passes (Elizabeth Goitein, The American Prospect, August 7, 2014)
- Post-9/11 Overreach of Secret Federal Court Must End (Faiza Patel, Al Jazeera America, July 18, 2014)
- On Anniversary of Snowden’s NSA Disclosure, A Shocking Realization (Elizabeth Goitein, Christian Science Monitor, June 5, 2014)
- Senate Must Rein in the NSA (Elizabeth Goitein, Reuters, June 2, 2014)
- Reining In the NSA (Faiza Patel, New York Times (Room for Debate), May 26, 2014)
- Living in the Grip of Vigilance (Faiza Patel, New York Times (Room for Debate), April 16, 2014)
- Blanket Spying on Muslims 'Makes Us Less Safe’ (Faiza Patel, The Crime Report, March 25, 2014)
- CIA-Senate Spat: Battle of the Branches (Elizabeth Goitein, Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2014)
- Will the 'War on Terror’ End Up Like the 'War on Crime’? (Walter Shapiro, March 21, 2014)
- A Failure to Protect Our Rights (Faiza Patel, Al Jazeera America, March 17, 2014)
- Why We Need a New Church Committee to Fix Our Broken Intelligence System (Frederick A.O. (“Fritz”) Schwarz, Jr., The Nation, March 12, 2014)
- The NSA Won’t Shut Up About Snowden, But What About the Spy Who Stole More? (Mike German, Guardian, March 11, 2014)
- Third-Party Metadata Idea Is Fourth-Rate (Elizabeth Goitein, Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2014)
- The Clear Anti-Muslim Bias Behind Anti-Sharia Laws (Faiza Patel & Amos Toh, Washington Post, February 21, 2014)
- The Real State of the Union: Surveillance and Privacy (Elizabeth Goitein, Al Jazeera America, January 28, 2014)
- Obama Should Remember Domestic Spying on MLK (Elizabeth Goitein, USA Today, January 17, 2014)
- Big Brother’s Little Siblings: How Local Police Departments are Spying on Us Now, Too (Michael Price, Salon, January 2, 2014)
- Bringing Intelligence Agencies to Heel (Elizabeth Goitein, Al Jazeera America, December 20, 2013)
- The Week America Came In From the Cold (Andrew Cohen, Brennan Center, December 20, 2013)
- Judge’s Ruling Could Jeopardize NSA Surveillance (Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic, December 17, 2013)
- The NSA’s Backdoor Search Loophole (Elizabeth Goitein, The Boston Review, November 14, 2013)
- The NSA Owes Us Answers (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, MSNBC, October 27, 2013)
- The U.S. Government’s Secrecy Problem Just Got Worse (Elizabeth Goitein, Al Jazeera America, October 17, 2013)
- The Double Danger of the NSA’s 'Collect It All’ Policy on Surveillance (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Guardian, October 10, 2013)
- What They’re Not Telling Us About Telephone Records Collections (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, National Law Journal, August 26, 2013)
- What Is the CIA Teaching the NYPD? (Faiza Patel, Defense One, August 15, 2013)
- A Victorious Loss for Privacy (Michael Price, Brennan Center, August 1, 2013)
- The Danger of American Apathy on NSA Surveillance (Elizabeth Goitein, Christian Science Monitor, July 31, 2013)
- Can a Balance Between Privacy and Security Ever Be Struck? (Monte Frenkel, Huffington Post, July 26, 2013)
- If I’m Not Doing Anything Wrong, Why Should I Care About Surveillance? (Jeremy Carp, Huffington Post, July 18, 2013)
- Manning and Snowden: Wakeup Call on Overclassification (R. Kyle Alagood, National Law Journal, July 10, 2013)
- Can We Afford Excessive Government Secrecy? (Elizabeth Goitein, Politico, July 1, 2013)
- FBI’s Data Mining Needs Scrutiny, Too (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Bloomberg, June 30, 2013)
- Crisis, Fear Have Driven US into National Security State (R. Kyle Alagood, The Adviser, June 12, 2013)
- Our Antiquated Laws Can’t Cope With National Security Leaks (Elizabeth Goitein, Time, June 12, 2013)
- How Will the Government Handle NSA Surveillance Leaker Edward Snowden? (Faiza Patel, New York Times (Room for Debate), June 11, 2013)
- How Much Privacy Are Americans Willing to Give Up? (Faiza Patel & Michael Price, MSNBC, June 7, 2013)
- NSA Data Collection: A Legal Dance (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Balkinization, June 7, 2013)
- The Spying on Americans Never Ended (Elizabeth Goitein, Wall Street Journal, June 6, 2013)
- Are We Less Safe? How President Obama’s Excessive Secrecy Could Harm National Security (Elizabeth Goitein, Salon, February 28, 2013)
- A Mixed Message for National Security Whistleblowers (Elizabeth Goitein, Huffington Post, October 22, 2012)
- To fix leaks, fix culture of secrecy (Elizabeth Goitein, CNN, August 8, 2012)
- Americans’ Privacy Under Debate in FISA Reauthorization (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Brennan Center, December 18, 2012)
- The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: An Opportunity to Limit Data Retention and Sharing (Rachel Levinson-Waldman, Brennan Center, November 9, 2012)
- What about whistleblowers? And why the big Obama turnaround on state secrets? (Elizabeth Goitein, Nieman Watchdog, June 27, 2012)
- Secrets and More (Government) Secrets (Elizabeth Goitein, Huffington Post, June 4, 2012)
- America’s Unnecessary Secrets (Elizabeth Goitein and J. William Leonard, New York Times, November 7, 2011)
- Classification and Consequences (Elizabeth Goitein, Roll Call, April 16, 2010)
- The Brennan Center for Justice & Just Security present: Overseas Surveillance in an Interconnected World: Understanding Executive Order 12333 and its Reach (March 17, 2016)
- Liza Goitein on BradCast: Dems Lend Trump a Helping Hand on Warrantless Surveillance of Americans (January 17, 2018)
- Congress Renews Warrantless Surveillance – And Makes It Even Worse (Wired, January 11, 2018)
- Just Security Special Edition Podcast: Liza Goitein on Section 702's Reauthorization (January 11, 2018)
- Liza Goitein on ReasonTV: End Warrantless Deep State Spying: Don’t Renew 702 (September 11, 2017)
- Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast: Interview with Rebecca Richards and Elizabeth Goitein (September 11, 2017)
- WJLA: ‘Full Measure’: Surveillance State (July 2, 2017)
- Liza Goitein on C-SPAN: FISA Reauthorization (June 27, 2017)
- Elizabeth Goitein on CSPAN2: Future of FISA (June 5, 2017)
- Liza Goitein on Tech Policy Podcast: NSA Checks Itself? (May 4, 2017)
- Liza Goitein on All Things Considered: What is Section 702?(April 24, 2017)
- Liza Goitein on All Things Considered: Unmasking 101 (April 24, 2017)
- Liza Goitein on WNYC: Section 702 (March 27, 2017)
- Elizabeth Goitein on Fox Business: Privacy and Security (March 23, 2017)
- The Brennan Center for Justice & Just Security present: Overseas Surveillance in an Interconnected World: Understanding Executive Order 12333 and its Reach (March 17, 2016)
- Interview: Michael German with Edward Snowden at Computers Freedom Privacy 2015 (October 12, 2015)
- Podcast: What Went Wrong With the FISA Court? (April 2, 2015)
- Interview: Michael German with Frederick A.O. Schwarz, Jr.(August 19, 2014)
- NBC: Is the U.S. Intelligence Community Out of Control? (August 8, 2014)
- RT: Elizabeth Goitein on CIA Investigation (August 4, 2014)
- The Real News: Elizabeth Goitein on CIA Allegations (March 14, 2014)
- MSNBC: Elizabeth Goitein on the CIA Spying Scandal (March 13, 2014)
- Huffington Post: Frederick Schwarz on Church Committee (March 12, 2014)
- Democracy Now: Mike German Talks CIA Spying (March 12, 2014)
- Arise TV: Mike German Discusses Surveillance Reforms (February 10, 2014)
- NBC: Elizabeth Goitein on Surveillance Reforms (January 17, 2014)
- BronxNet: Michael Price on NSA Data Collection (January 14, 2014)
- RT: Rachel Levinson-Waldman on NSA Lawsuit (January 6, 2014)
- MSNBC: Elizabeth Goitein on the NSA (December 21, 2013)
- Bloomberg TV: Elizabeth Goitein on New NSA Guidelines (December 18, 2013)
- RT: Rachel Levinson-Waldman on NSA Phone Program (December 16, 2013)
- EVENT: Public Voices Lecture: Surveillance in the U.S. (December 5, 2013)
- CCTV: Goitein on NSA Spying on Foreign Leaders (November 3, 2013)
- Russian TV: Elizabeth Goitein on NSA Reform Bill (November 1, 2013)
- Globo TV: Faiza Patel on NSA Spying (October 31, 2013)
- HuffPost: Goitein on NSA Spying on Foreign Leaders (October 30, 2013)
- Al Jazeera: Rachel Levinson-Waldman on NSA Data (October 20, 2013)
- Russian TV America: Elizabeth Goitein on NSA Disclosure (September 10, 2013)
- HuffPost Live: Faiza Patel on Internet Security (September 6, 2013)
- MSNBC: Elizabeth Goitein on Obama and Surveillance (August 9, 2013)
- Current TV: Faiza Patel on ACLU’s Case Against NSA (June 12, 2013)
- WSJ: Elizabeth Goitein on Government Overreach (June 11, 2013)
- MSNBC: Elizabeth Goitein on Privacy vs Security (June 10, 2013)
- FoxNews: Elizabeth Goitein on the Need for Privacy Debate (June 10, 2013)
- MSNBC: Elizabeth Goitein on Secrecy and Surveillance (June 9, 2013)
- MSNBC: Elizabeth Goitein on Data Collection and the Law (June 8, 2013)
- MSNBC: Elizabeth Goitein on Gov’t Metadata Mining (June 6, 2013)
- Bloomberg: Faiza Patel on Gov’t Surveillance (June 6, 2013)
- WSJ: Faiza Patel on Gov’t Phone Tracking (June 6, 2013)
- C-SPAN: Faiza Patel on Privacy and Government Surveillance (February 25, 2013)
- Letter from 24 Civil Liberties Groups to Office of the Director of National Intelligence, House Judiciary Committee (May 31, 2018)
- U.S. Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Warrantless Searches of Americans’ Emails, Phone Calls (January 18, 2018)
- U.S. House Votes to Authorize Warrantless Domestic Spying on Americans (January 11, 2018)
- Coalition Letter on Section 702 Legislation (December 20, 2017)
- Senators Leahy and Lee Introduce Bill to Reform Section 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (November 17, 2017)
- Experts Available: House Judiciary Committee Votes to Permit Warrantless Surveillance of Americans (November 8, 2017)
- In Advance of Senate Intelligence Committee Markup, Sens. Wyden and Paul Introduce Bill to Reform Section 702 of FISA(October 24, 2017)
- U.S. House Judiciary Committee Members Call on Director of National Intelligence to Disclose Surveillance Data (April 22, 2016)
- Groups Ask the NSA to Halt Plans to Weaken Privacy Protections for Americans (April 7, 2016)
- New Report: NSA’s Overseas Surveillance Activities Pose Major Privacy Risks to Americans, Have Little Oversight (March 16, 2016)
- Brennan Center, Civil Liberties Groups Press Director of National Intelligence for Answers on Section 702 Surveillance(January 13, 2016)
- How Many Americans are Swept Up in NSA’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance? (October 29, 2015)
- Congress Passes NSA Reform Bill (June 2, 2015)
- NSA Reform Bill Aims to End “Bulk Collection” of Americans’ Records, But Falls Short on Other Needed Reforms (April 28, 2015)
- Senate Fails to Advance NSA Reform Bill (November 18, 2014)
- Groups Urge Passage of NSA Reform Bill Without Amendment (September 5, 2014)
- NSA and FBI Targeting Muslim American Leaders (July 9, 2014)
- NSA Collects Far More Information About Ordinary People Than So-Called “Targets” (July 7, 2014)
- On Anniversary of Snowden Leak, Reformers Look to Senate to Rein in NSA Surveillance (June 5, 2014)
- House Passes Watered-Down NSA Reform Bill (May 22, 2014)
- House to Vote on Watered-Down Surveillance Reform Bill (May 21, 2014)
- House Intelligence Committee Approves NSA Reforms (May 8, 2014)
- House Judiciary Committee and Intelligence Committee to Move on NSA Reforms (May 7, 2014)
- Former Brennan Center Fellow Wins Pulitzer for NSA Surveillance Reporting (April 15, 2014)
- Brennan Center Submits Comments on Big Data Review (April 4, 2014)
- Groups Urge Congress to End Bulk Collection (April 1, 2014)
- Former Brennan Center Fellow Wins Pulitzer for NSA Surveillance Reporting (April 15, 2014)
- Letter to the Office of Science and Technology Policy (April 4, 2014)
- Groups Urge Congress to End Bulk Collection of All types of Americans’ Data (April 1, 2014)
- President’s Proposal to End Bulk Collection Leaves Key Questions Unanswered (March 27, 2014)
- Privacy Board Calls for End to Bulk Collection Program (January 23, 2014)
- Brennan Center Encouraged by President’s Steps to Curb Surveillance Abuse (January 17, 2014)
- New Report: Police Intelligence Gathering Lacks Standards, Threatens National Security and Civil Liberties (December 10, 2013)
- Brennan Center Submits Comments to the Department of Defense Privacy Program (October 21, 2013)
- Letter to Attorney General Requesting Reports on Telephone Surveillance Program (September 17, 2013)
- Letter to Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Urging Transparency on NSA Surveillance Program ( June 18, 2013)
- Letter to President Obama on Security Classification Reform Steering Committee ( April 23, 2013)
- Comments Submitted to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (October 26, 2012)
- House Intelligence Committee Approves NSA Reforms (May 8, 2014)
- House Judiciary Committee and Intelligence Committee to Move on NSA Reforms (May 7, 2014)
- Testimony on “The FISA Amendments Act: Reauthorizing America’s Vital National Security Authority and Protecting Privacy and Civil Liberties” before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Elizabeth Goitein, June 27, 2017)
- Testimony on Section 702 Reform before the House Committee on the Judiciary (Elizabeth Goitein, March 1, 2017)
- Testimony on “Oversight and Reauthorization of the FISA Amendments Act” Before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Elizabeth Goitein, May 10, 2016)