EFF Wins FOIA Lawsuit Against DEA, Forces The Release Of More Info About Its Hemisphere Program

Recent legal victories have partially dismantled the secrecy surrounding the DEA’s Hemisphere program, revealing a collaborative surveillance system between the government and AT&T. Documents uncovered through FOIA requests demonstrate that this partnership allowed law enforcement to access vast amounts of telephone records with minimal oversight. By embedding corporate personnel within federal agencies, the program effectively bypassed standard transparency requirements, raising serious concerns about the unchecked power of state surveillance mechanisms. A critical finding in these documents is the institutionalization of "parallel construction," a practice where investigators obscure the true origin of evidence to prevent defendants from challenging its legality in court. Internal communications explicitly encouraged hiding the program’s existence from judges and criminal defendants, mirroring tactics previously associated with the NSA. This deliberate obfuscation undermines due process and highlights a systemic effort to shield law enforcement activities from judicial scrutiny and public accountability. This revelation is vital to the open data community as it exposes how proprietary corporate data can be weaponized for state surveillance under the guise of legal authority. The DEA’s attempt to disavow ownership of the program, despite its central role in its operation, illustrates the dangers of opaque public-private partnerships. Understanding these hidden mechanisms is essential for advocating for greater transparency, ensuring that data access laws protect civil liberties rather than enabling secret, broad-brush intelligence gathering.

Source: techdirt.com
Published on 2025-03-21

EFF Wins FOIA Lawsuit Against DEA, Forces The Release Of More Info About Its Hemisphere Program

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