Since September 11th, the United States government has adopted a variety of new or enhanced surveillance programs as part of its counter-terrorism efforts.  Some of these, such as the surveillance authorities of the USA Patriot Act, involve increased powers granted to the Executive Branch by Congress in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks.  Others, such as the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program, were initiated by the Executive Branch without congressional or court approval.  Still others, such as the increasing use of watch lists, have been developed by federal agencies with varying degrees of congressional oversight.

With regard to all such surveillance programs, the Constitution Project advocates that the federal government should be granted the surveillance powers it needs for counter-terrorism efforts, but that such programs must include necessary safeguards to protect privacy rights and civil liberties.  Further, congressional and judicial oversight are critical to ensure that surveillance is targeted properly and does not unnecessarily intrude upon individual rights.

The Constitution Project’s reports and advocacy on these issues have included:

• Watch lists:  Advocating that watch lists should only be used in situations where decisions must be made quickly and grave consequences would follow from failure to screen out a listed person; and that government agencies must establish measures to promote the accuracy of the lists and to provide a meaningful and fundamentally fair opportunity for individuals to challenge their inclusion on a watch list;
• NSA Surveillance:  Condemning the National Security Agency’s warrantless domestic wiretapping program for violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and calling for restoration of judicial review to limit the scope of permissible surveillance; and
• Patriot Act:  Urging reforms to the Patriot Act to incorporate strong protections for constitutional rights and civil liberties, particularly with regard to the National Security Letter (NSL) authority.

Recent Work and News

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