FBI Is Behind Mysterious Flights Over US Cities

[ElNono]

A report from the Associated Press indicates the FBI has a small fleet of planes that fly across the U.S. carrying surveillance equipment. The planes are registered with fic ious companies to hide their association with the U.S. government. The FBI says they're only used for investigations that are "specific" and "ongoing," but they're often used without getting permission from a judge beforehand. "Some of the aircraft can also be equipped with technology that can identify thousands of people below through the cellphones they carry, even if they're not making a call or in public. Officials said that practice, which mimics cell towers and gets phones to reveal basic subscriber information, is rare." The AP identified at least 50 FBI-controlled planes, which have done over 100 flights since late April. The AP adds that they've seen the planes "orbiting large, enclosed buildings for extended periods where aerial photography would be less effective than electronic signals collection."

[Blake]

Ah if only Parker2112 or sa210 were here to give us their thoughts

[cantthinkofanything]

Ah if only Parker2112 or sa210 were here to give us their thoughts

I'll go out on a limb and say that they think you're re ed.

[Blake]

I'll go out on a limb and say that they think you're re ed.

yeah they probably do, but I vaccinate my kid so there's that.

[DMC]

Probably used more to tap into cellular calls regarding stock movement than anything else. The job of the federal government is to keep the jobs of the federal government.

[ElNono]

Congress: We Didn't Know the FBI Was Creating a Small Surveillance 'Air Force'

In a followup to last week's news that the FBI is operating a fleet of planes across the U.S. for surveillance purposes. A new article in The Atlantic points out that Congress is claiming to have had little or no awareness the fleet was being built, and is asking for answers. Quoting: Senator Charles Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, demanded to be briefed (PDF) no later than this week on "the scope, nature, and purpose of these operations and what legal authorities, if any, are being relied upon in carrying out these operations." Sixteen House members wrote to the FBI (PDF), pointing out that the president had just signed a reform ending the bulk collection of phone records. "It is highly disturbing," they wrote, "to learn that your agency may be doing just that and more with a secret fleet of aircraft engaged in surveillance missions." They asked for the FBI to identify the legal theory used to justify the flights, the cir stances surrounding them, the technologies on the aircraft, the privacy policy used for data collected, and the civil liberties safeguards that had been put in place. Senator Al Franken has posed ten questions of his own (PDF) to the FBI.

[pgardn]

The Obama administration had until recently been directing local authorities through secret agreements not to reveal their own use of the devices, even encouraging prosecutors to drop cases rather than disclose the technology's use in open court.


So much for actually fighting crime.