FISA judge finds five years of illegal surveillance of some U.S. persons, but it wasn’t willful; remedial measures required; still, 4A not violated

McClatchy: Secret court rebukes NSA for 5-year illegal surveillance of U.S. citizens by Tim Johnson:

U.S. intelligence agencies conducted illegal surveillance on American citizens over a five-year period, a practice that earned them a sharp rebuke from a secret court that called the matter a “very serious” constitutional issue.

The criticism is in a lengthy secret ruling that lays bare some of the frictions between the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and U.S. intelligence agencies obligated to obtain the court’s approval for surveillance activities.

. . .

The court filing noted an NSA decision [via press release] March 30 to narrow collection of “upstream” data within the United States. Under that decision, the NSA acknowledged that it had erred in sweeping up the communications of U.S. citizens or residents but said those errors “were not willful.” Even so, the NSA said it would no longer collect certain kinds of data known as “about” communications, in which a U.S. citizen was merely mentioned.

The NSA announced that change publicly on April 28, two days after the court ruling, saying the agency would limit its sweeps to communications either directly to or from a foreign intelligence target. That change would reduce “the likelihood that NSA will acquire communications of U.S. persons or others who are not in direct contact with one of the agency’s foreign intelligence targets.”

The case: [Redacted], No. [Redacted] (F.I.S.Ct. April 27, 2017).

See also WaPo: NSA halts controversial email collection practice to preserve larger surveillance program.

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