FBI searches of data collected without a warrant nearly triples last year
16:09 JST, April 30, 2022
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The FBI made nearly 3.4 million queries last year to a database of information collected without a warrant, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said on Friday, nearly tripling from the previous year.
The FBI data, which ODNI said was being included for the first time in its transparency report, included some 1.9 million queries done as part of investigations into attempts by foreign cyber attackers to compromise U.S. critical infrastructure, like U.S. power plants.
The 3.4 million from December 2020 to November 2021 is up from the 1.3 million queries from December 2019 to November 2020.
“Certain steps FBI has taken to ensure U.S. person protections apply to all U.S. person queries result in an over counting of U.S. person queries,” the report said.
It said that one person could turn up using multiple queries and each of those queries could be run multiple times.
The queries were made to a database that contains information collected under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which does not require a warrant.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other privacy advocates have been critical of the use of Section 702 by the FBI, arguing that FISA was meant to catch foreign intelligence information or evidence of a crime but not to turn up information about U.S. citizens.
"News Services" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Dollar Edges Lower, Yen at 34-year Trough
-
A Strong Earthquake Shakes Taiwan, Damaging Buildings and Causing a Tsunami
-
Taiwan’s Strongest Earthquake in 25 Years Kills Seven, Traps 77 (UPDATE 2)
-
Iranian Consulate in Damascus Flattened in Suspected Israeli Air Strike
-
Japan’s Nikkei Climbs 1.5% as Investors Scoop Up Beaten-Down Stocks (Update 1)
JN ACCESS RANKING
- M6.0 Earthquake Hits Japan’s Tohoku Region; Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi Prefectures Observe 4 on Japanese Scale With No Risk of Tsunami
- Cherry Blossoms Draw Crowd to Tokyo’s Ueno Park; Viewing Season Kicks Off to Slow Start
- China Mutes Memorialization of Reformer Hu Yaobang; Memories Could Spark Critique of Xi Administration
- Shinkansen Services Suspended After Man ‘Searches for Phone’ on Tracks; Disruption Affects About 14,000 Passengers
- Whaling Mother Ship Built in Japan for 1st Time in 73 Years