A new report from The Epoch Times’ Kevin Stocklin is a real eye-opener for those concerned about privacy and their Fourth Amendment rights.
George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 is supposed to be based on fiction. But what happens when it actually feels like “Big Brother is watching”?
A new report from The Epoch Times that, even with the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution in place, U.S. agencies are becoming more and more intrusive with the surveillance of communication amongst American citizens. Working alongside private companies and banks, agencies such as the FBI have allegedly been sorting through the private date of millions of Americans, without probable cause of a crime or a search warrant.
“The violations that we’ve seen have not just been epic in scale, but they’ve also been persistent, over and over again,” Jake Laperruque, a deputy director at the Center for Democracy and Technology, told attendees at a recent conference held at the Cato Institute.
“To put a human scale on this, what we’re talking about is not just random typos or wrong clicks; we’re looking at things like pulling up batches of thousands of political donors in one go, without any suspicion of wrongdoing,” he continued. “We’ve had reports of journalists, political commentators, a domestic political party; these compliance violations are the most worrisome type of politically focused surveillance.”
Federal agencies have been granted powers by the PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to spy on foreign nationals to fight terrorism, but today these agencies are being charged with abusing that authority to spy on U.S. citizens in violation of our Fourth amendment rights.
With certain sections of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) set to expire this year, the pressure is on Congress to reauthorize it, as they have done in the past. But revelations of alleged FBI and intelligence agency abuses could cause some members of Congress to reconsider.
Kevin Stocklin, the investigative reporter who wrote the piece, joins us now to discuss it further.
Q&A:
- What are the legalities surrounding this surveillance by agencies? How can federal agencies collect data on Americans without a warrant and probable cause, in violation of the Fourth Amendment?
- What are the information sources that federal agencies are mining to surveil Americans?
- What is the role of data brokers in all this?
- The Biden administration would likely note that, if there were violations, they would be for the sake of American safety. How do we balance safety with privacy?
- Congress has rubber stamped the reauthorization of FISA authority when it has come up for renewal in the past. What’s different this time?
- What would happen if FISA Section 702 weren’t to be renewed?
- Speaking of the government getting involved with businesses, you recently produced a new documentary called The Shadow State, which discusses the impact of the ESG market. Tell us more about it and how the ESG industry ties into government surveillance.
- Where can people view The Shadow State? We understand there’s also a DVD release coming soon as well?
The Shadow State is available right now on Epoch TV. Those interested in pre-ordering the DVD for release can do so here.
- Where can we find your recent article about this subject on The Epoch Times, as well as other works you’ve written?
You can find my profile page here, with all my recently written articles, including a piece on what you’re not being told about the Electric Vehicle revolution.
About Kevin Stocklin:
Kevin Stocklin is a writer, film producer, and former investment banker. He wrote and produced We All Fall Down: The American Mortgage Crisis, a 2008 documentary on the collapse of the U.S. mortgage finance system.
CONTACT: Jerry McGlothlin at: geraldmcg@outlook.com or 919-437-0001.
