The NSA and Accountability in an Era of Big Data

In his symposium speech, the General Counsel of the National Security Agency, Raj De attempts to bridge the gap between the public discourse about NSA and the reality of the legal rules, oversight, and responsibility that currently exist at the agency. De sought to clarify NSA’s activities relating to data collection and storage and what… Continue reading The NSA and Accountability in an Era of Big Data

On the Bulk Collection of Tangible Things

This article examines the controversy surrounding bulk telephone metadata collection that has ensued since their disclosure in June 2013. The author analyzes the “use of tangible things” provision to acquire telephony metadata, including limitations on this practice, the statutory issues such a practice raises, and the ways in which the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has… Continue reading On the Bulk Collection of Tangible Things

Discovering the Artichoke: How Mistakes & Omissions Have Blurred the Enabling Intent of the Classified Information Procedures Act

Misunderstandings of the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), and confusions between CIPA and the state secrets doctrine, have resulted in a split in federal circuit courts over how CIPA functions. Congress should amend the statute to end this confusion and enhance its original goals—to enable discovery to protect a defendant’s rights and to protect intelligence… Continue reading Discovering the Artichoke: How Mistakes & Omissions Have Blurred the Enabling Intent of the Classified Information Procedures Act