[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #494: Electronic communication transactional records

Wed Jun 15 10:30:23 EDT 2016

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OPLIN 4cast #494: Electronic communication transactional records
June 15th, 2016

[image: FBI emblem] What are electronic communication transactional
records? Well… that’s actually a pretty good question. The answer starts
with National Security Letters (NSLs), secret demands for information that
the FBI can issue without a court order (and strongly opposed by the
American Library Association
<http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/statementspols/ifresolutions/nationalsecurityletters>).
Under current law, these letters can only be used for limited types of
information about a person’s online and financial activities related to
suspected terrorism activity, but in practice the FBI has used them to
demand much more information than they are authorized to request. Now the
FBI is supporting legislation to make it clear that they have the authority
to use NSLs to also demand “electronic communication transactional
records,” which they would probably interpret to mean all of the metadata
associated with any Internet activity. But who knows?
- FBI seeks expanded National Security Letter to include browser history
and more
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/06/if-youre-a-suspected-terrorist-or-spy-fbi-wants-to-get-more-of-your-metadata/>
(Ars Technica | Cyrus Farivar) “The two pieces of proposed legislation
would each significantly expand use of National Security Letters to include
‘Electronic Communication Transactional Records’—better known as metadata. As
Ars has reported previously
<http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/in-a-reversal-judge-now-says-national-security-letters-are-constitutional/>,
federal investigators issue tens of thousands of NSLs
<https://www.eff.org/issues/national-security-letters> each year to banks,
ISPs, car dealers, insurance companies, doctors, and others in terrorism
and espionage investigations. The letters demand personal information, and
they don’t need a judge’s signature, much less a showing of probable cause.
They also come with a default gag to the recipient that forbids the
disclosure of the NSL to the public or the target.”
- ECTR-Coalition-Letter-6-6-1
<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2853642-ECTR-Coalition-Letter-6-6-1.html>
“This expansion of the NSL statute has been characterized by some
government officials as merely fixing a ‘typo’ in the law. In reality,
however, it would dramatically expand the ability of the FBI to get
sensitive information about users’ online activities without court
oversight. The provision would expand the categories of records, known as
Electronic Communication Transactional Records (ECTRs), that the FBI can
obtain using administrative subpoenas called NSLs, which do not require
probable cause. Under these proposals, ECTRs would include a host of online
information, such as IP addresses, routing and transmission information,
session data, and more.”
- New intelligence bill gives FBI more secret surveillance power
<https://theintercept.com/2016/06/07/new-intelligence-bill-gives-fbi-more-secret-surveillance-power/>
(The Intercept | Jenna McLaughlin) “The provision, tucked into the Senate
Intelligence Authorization Act, would explicitly authorize the FBI to
obtain ‘electronic communication transactional records’ for individuals or
entities — though it doesn’t define what that means. The bill was passed by
the Senate Intelligence Committee last week. In the past, the FBI has
considered
<http://isp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/page-attachments/merrill_v._lynch_-_unredacted_attachment_to_2004_nsl.pdf>
‘electronic communication transactional records’ to be a broad category of
information — including everything from browsing history, email header
information, records of online purchases, IP addresses of contacts, and
more.”
- Expansion of secret National Security Letters – A poison pill for email
privacy
<https://cdt.org/blog/expansion-of-secret-national-security-letters-a-poison-pill-for-email-privacy/>
(Center for Democracy & Technology | Gabe Rottman) “Basically, even though
the FBI would not be able to obtain content, the breadth of what they could
get—again, without going to court—is nothing less than one’s digital
fingerprint. As we migrate our lives increasingly online, all of our
beliefs, predilections, biases, wants and desires can be seen in that
fingerprint. If I’m a Trump voter, for instance, you’ll be able to see that
pattern in the blogs I read, the email listservs I subscribe to, the group
of friends I communicate with, or the fact that I took that selfie at the
local Trump rally. If I’m battling a serious illness, I’m going to create a
series of digital breadcrumbs suggestive of my diagnosis. Likewise if I’m a
member of a religious minority or a controversial political movement.”

*Articles from Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Legal digest.
   <http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=88000324>
   (*FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin*, Jan.2013, p.1-3 | David J. Gottfried)
   - Domestic surveillance overview.
   <http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=111812207>
   (*Congressional Digest*, Dec.2015, p.2-32)
   - Down the rabbit hole: E-books and user privacy in the 21st century.
   <http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=112614041>
   (*Creighton Law Review*, Dec.2015, p.23-72 | Elizabeth Henslee)

------------------------------
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