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December 3, 2010

Law Enforcement Agencies Conduct "Real-Time" Spying Without Court Orders
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Newly released documents show warrantless government spying is
continuing with real-time tracking of Americans’ everyday transactions.
A government memo obtained by privacy activist Christopher Soghoian
shows law enforcement agencies have been able to monitor targets by
obtaining their credit cards, loyalty cards and travel bookings without
a court order. Agents can obtain the so-called "Hotwatch" orders by
writing up their own subpoena and getting a judge to rule that it cannot
be disclosed. The American Civil Liberties Union has released hundreds
of pages of government documents it says show the government continues
to violate legal limits on domestic surveillance. The documents
acknowledge breaches in collecting personal information but do not
specify how many people have been affected.



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