Last week, yet another questionable National Security Administration surveillance program came to light through the extensive top-secret NSA files leaked by Edward Snowden earlier this year. This time, the government agency is targeting individuals’ online sexual activity and collecting information that can potentially discredit them. This program is concerning not only because it fails to narrowly tailor the surveillance to justified targets, but it also surveys personal activity that is evidently unrelated to terrorism and, in many cases, protected under the Constitution.
While government officials and NSA supporters have repeatedly asserted that the surveillance programs only target foreigners with known involvement in terrorist activities, the documents show that one of the six “radicalizers” listed as “exemplars in this assessment” was a person in the United States. The others can hardly be described as terrorists — one is identified as a “well-known media celebrity” who came under scrutiny for claiming the United States was behind the 9/11 attacks. If incendiary speech is enough for anyone to come under intense surveillance, then the NSA really has thrown the Constitution out the window.
The chart describing the actions of those being observed cites “online promiscuity” and “glamorous lifestyle” as vulnerabilities that could be used against a target for “exploitation.” This is a dangerous path to tread, as the utilization of personal information in an effort to discredit a public figure has gotten intelligence agencies in hot water before. In the 1960s, the FBI wiretapped Martin Luther King Jr. to gather information to uncover rumored communist relations and consequently diminish his influence as a civil rights leader. Surveillance continued until his assassination. In hindsight, this oversight has largely been considered a gross violation of civil rights. It is not farfetched to fear a resurgence of the NSA activities revealed in a recent report, which outlines the now infamous Project Minaret and its surveillance of prominent American senators, journalists, civil rights leaders and celebrities during the Vietnam Era.
Results gleaned by monitoring the telephone communications of the “radicalizers” were also not representative of an effective program. Only one percent of their contacts were “known or suspec-ted of being associated with terrorism.” These scarce developments should spur the NSA to gravitate toward other methods of investigation with a higher probability of thwarting the next 9/11. This surveillance is a violation of rights, a needless and ineffective use of government funds and a costly waste of time.
A version of this column appeared in the Wednesday, Dec. 4 print edition. Nina Golshan is a staff columnist. Email her at [email protected].