NSA warrantless surveillance controversy
Overview
The NSA warrantless surveillance controversy (AKA "Warrantless Wiretapping") concerns surveillance
of persons within the United States during the collection of foreign intelligence by the U.S. National Security Agency
(NSA) as part of the war on terror
. Under this program, referred to by the Bush administration as the "terrorist surveillance program", part of the broader President's Surveillance Program
, the NSA is authorized by executive order to monitor, without search warrant
s, phone calls
, Internet
activity (Web, e-mail
, etc.), text messaging
, and other communication involving any party believed by the NSA to be outside the U.S., even if the other end of the communication lies within the U.S.
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
of persons within the United States during the collection of foreign intelligence by the U.S. National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
(NSA) as part of the war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Under this program, referred to by the Bush administration as the "terrorist surveillance program", part of the broader President's Surveillance Program
President's Surveillance Program
The President's Surveillance Program is a collection of secret intelligence activities authorized by then President of the United States George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks in 2001 as part of the War on Terrorism...
, the NSA is authorized by executive order to monitor, without search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
s, phone calls
Telephone call
A telephone call is a connection over a telephone network between the calling party and the called party.-Information transmission:A telephone call may carry ordinary voice transmission using a telephone, data transmission when the calling party and called party are using modems, or facsimile...
, Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
activity (Web, e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, etc.), text messaging
Text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, refers to the exchange of brief written text messages between fixed-line phone or mobile phone and fixed or portable devices over a network...
, and other communication involving any party believed by the NSA to be outside the U.S., even if the other end of the communication lies within the U.S.
Discussions
