US court ruled that the FBI violated US citizen privacy by abusing NSA surveillance data

US court ruled that between 2017 and 2018, the FBI conducted tens of thousands of unauthorized searches of US citizens. In response to this act, the court found that the agency violated the law authorizing its use of surveillance programs and the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution.

In fact, the ruling was made in October last year by the secret government court, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), but it was not announced until today.

“Bloomington FBI”by Amy Guth is licensed under CC BY 2.0

It is reported that the project mentioned above in Section 702, which is a positive expansion of the spy project that allows FBI agents to search the electronic intelligence database after the 9/11 incident.

There is a key limitation in Section 702 that it can only be used to search for criminal evidence or as part of a survey of foreign targets. Its purpose is to monitor terrorist suspects and cyber threats.

However, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the FBI used the database to review US sources. In addition, these agents also use the database to search for information about themselves. In addition, they will go to find information about friends, family, and colleagues. The court found this to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Source: theverge