Electronic surveillance

The Intel Community’s Annual Transparency Report Raises More Questions Than It Answers

In the waning hours of the day on Friday, May 4 – four days later than was statutorily required – the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) released its annual transparency report. This mandatory report, summarizing certain intelligence agencies’ surveillance activities in 2017, is one of the most important results of the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015. However, the dramatic increase in the government’s collection and searches of Americans’ communications data that is detailed in the report raises serious questions about whether the intelligence community is adhering to Congress’ intent when it passed these laws, or if its interpretations of what surveillance the laws authorize is overly aggressive.

Those questions aside, the data in this report make three things very clear: First, privacy advocates were justified in their calls for sweeping Section 702 reforms and in their rebuke of Congress when it failed to enact them. Second, the USA FREEDOM Act may not have delivered the strong reforms its sponsors expected. And third, while the intelligence community has taken steps towards being more transparent, they have been baby steps and the data shared require additional context and detail to constitute meaningful transparency.