US EditionDemocrats Press Gabbard on Whether VPNs Expose Americans to NSA Spying
The lawmakers say declassified rules could let Americans’ VPN traffic be treated as foreign, raising questions about warrantless surveillance of millions of users.
- On Thursday, six Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard asking whether Americans using Virtual Private Networks are being misclassified as foreigners under United States surveillance law.
- Intelligence agencies operate under a 'foreignness presumption' where traffic from unknown locations is treated as non-US, pulling domestic data into surveillance programs like Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the National Security Agency .
- VPNs obscure user locations by routing traffic through global servers, making an American connected to a foreign server appear indistinguishable from a foreign target to bulk collection systems used by the NSA.
- This inquiry adds urgency to Section 702's renewal next month, which lawmakers argue requires significant reforms to clarify how privacy rights apply to modern digital tools.
- Executive Order 12333, a Reagan-era directive authorizing broader surveillance without court oversight, presents similar risks and highlights the ongoing tension between national security and constitutional privacy protections.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Senators Ask Tulsi Gabbard To Tell Americans That VPN Use Might Subject Them To Domestic Surveillance
This may not be an actual "Wyden siren," but it still has his name attached to it. What's being said here isn't nearly as ominous as this single sentence he sent to CIA leadership earlier this year: I write to alert you to a classified letter I sent you earlier today in which I express…
Lawmakers Warn VPN Use May Let NSA Spy on You
Firing up that VPN to shield your privacy might be doing the opposite, a group of Democratic lawmakers warns. Six members of Congress have asked Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to publicly say whether Americans who route their internet traffic through overseas VPN servers are effectively being treated as...
Are American VPN users at risk of 'warrantless' government surveillance? Lawmakers now demand answers
Six Democrats sent a letter to the Director of National Intelligence seeking clarity on whether using a commercial VPN could strip citizens of their privacy rights by exposing them to foreign surveillance laws.
Using a VPN to hide your location could expose you to government surveillance
Six Democratic lawmakers on Thursday asked Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to reveal whether US citizens who connect through VPNs are losing constitutional protections against warrantless spying. Their letter argues that because virtual private networks obscure a user's true location, intelligence agencies may presume those communications are foreign in...Read Entire Article
Is the US Using VPN Servers for Spying Purposes? Lawmakers Want Transparency
The lawmakers who wrote to DNI Tulsi Gabbard have access to classified intelligence, suggesting they uncovered something about US surveillance capabilities via VPN servers in foreign countries.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 57% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
