Most of the Those Who the NSA Collected Data on Were Regular People
As journalists dig deeper into NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden, we find even more reason to be alarmed. Most recently, we learned that in addition to everything else, the NSA also has terrible aim when it comes to surveillance targets. That is to say, nine out of every ten people who were spied on were not actual suspects, but regular people, some even American citizens, caught in the data crossfire.
It seems that the agency casts a rather large net when tracking people down. And should you be unfortunate enough to ever unknowingly communicate, in any traceable way, with a suspected terrorist, you were likely snagged by the NSA. The only way to know for sure that you’re completely innocent and unaware of any wrongdoing? Why, to dig through all of your information, of course! It wouldn’t be so bad if all they did was read the original contact and see that you weren’t involved in anti-American activity, but just, say, responding to a Craigslist ad to pick up free paint. But according to The Washington Post, while the agency has taken care to disregard irrelevant information, a lot of extremely private information has been kept on file, for no clear reason.
“They tell stories of love and heartbreak, illicit sexual liaisons, mental-health crises, political and religious conversions, financial anxieties and disappointed hopes,” writes the Washington Post reporting team of Barton Gellman, Julie Tate, and Ashkan Soltani. The information also includes job applications, baby photos, medical records, nude selfies, and school transcripts. “The daily lives of more than 10,000 account holders who were not targeted are catalogued and recorded nevertheless.”
The NSA made efforts to mask identifying information of such random bystanders, and yet about 900 email addresses linked to U.S. citizens remain unblocked. We’re able to know this information because employees of The Post sat down and reviewed nearly 8,000 documents handed over by Snowden, spanning 2009-2012. If the idea of a journalism team scouring through your personal information creeps you out, just remember: The NSA already dug through it years ago. And you had no idea.
By law, the NSA only has the right to spy on foreign nationals who are overseas, and must have reasonable cause to begin targeting. The seizure, and worse, retention, of sensitive data from U.S. citizens is alarming to say the least, and way over the agency’s bounds. The NSA will not confirm, nor deny the validity of any of the documentation, but did ask The Post to withhold specific information that relates to ongoing investigations (That sounds a little like confirmation to us). The Obama administration also refused to comment on the scale of the collection.
While we’ve pretty much known or suspected that we’re constantly being spied on for some time, this is the first time that we’ve had real, definite proof of data collected on ordinary people, both American and non-American. And while The Post was thoughtful and professional enough not to publish any of the data found, they very well could have. Now more so than ever, be careful what you type, what pictures you take, and to whom you send it. You really never know where it’s going to end up.
[Pic via Flickr - Official GDC]
