The DEA Spies on More Phone Calls Than the NSA
September 3rd, 2013
Americans are guaranteed the right to privacy and the security of their persons, houses, papers, and effects. This cluster of liberties has been a part of the nation’s legal tradition since it was enshrined in the Bill of Rights. However, citizens were recently driven to outrage after discovering that the National Security Agency has been abusing American privacy rights by spying on everyone’s emails and phone calls.
…but wait, there’s more! The New York Times is reporting that the Drug Enforcement Administration has a telephone spying program of its own, and it’s much larger and more extensive than that of the NSA and has been ongoing since 1987. The DEA-funded Hemisphere Project collects and compiles data from all phone calls moving through AT&T’s network — just in case. Far more Americans are accused of drug crimes than terrorism, so this particular brand of government overreach affects a greater percentage of the population than that of the NSA.
AT&T and the DEA, Partners in Data Theft
DEA agents and AT&T employees work together in data theft centers around the country, stealing and compiling phone call records from AT&T customers and their associates. Federal grants pay the salaries. Phone records are compiled and stored for decades at a time.
The Constitution specifically requires a warrant before this type of data can be legally collected. From a practical standpoint, the program is unnecessary, because most phone companies keep records for some reasonable period of time, so courts could easily request phone records on suspects without having to carry out such a widespread, invasive data collection scheme. Furthermore, the basic premise behind the War on Drugs is itself flawed, as Americans should be free to make their own health mistakes so long as they do not harm others.
In the War on Drugs, Everyone Is a Suspect
After the NSA scandal broke, some were comforted by the fact that NSA officials are mainly spying on individuals with degrees of separation from alleged international terrorists. However, the DEA is concerned with drug users and dealers. Since large percentages of the US population use or have tried marijuana, virtually anyone who has been in contact with any other person who has purchased cannabis could be targeted for spying.
It’s clear that a culture of lawlessness festers in modern federal agencies. In pursuit of promotions, agents are throwing out the rule book when trying to identify suspects. New technological advancements are being incorporated into operating procedures without consideration for how they might affect fundamental human rights.
The good news is that whistleblowers seem to be leaking these abuses at a previously unseen pace. New scandals explode through the media each week. With every leak, additional abuses are exposed, and legislators begin drafting bills to curtail them. Civil liberties activists also gain credibility as former conspiracy theories are transformed into commonly-known facts.
The DEA has gone rogue and no longer follows the law. The War on Drugs has slipped completely out of control.
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