Attorneys' offices appears to vary by location," ACLU spokesperson, Josh Bell told ABC News in an email.ĪCLU attorney Nathan Wessler further explained their position in a recent blog post. "The documents show that despite a federal appeals court ruling that under the Fourth Amendment, investigators must get a warrant before reading people's emails, the FBI has apparently not been getting warrants to do so, and the policy of U.S. With the FOIA request they were trying to determine if the FBI had properly complied with a 2010 appeals court decision that concerned when email providers must turn over messages to law enforcement and whether the guidelines apply to text messages. The ACLU has argued that current government surveillance practices on electronic communications violate citizens' Fourth Amendment rights, which are meant to protect Americans from unlawful searches and seizures. It is all part of a larger legal battle between civil rights activists and the federal law enforcement about electronic communications. Instead, the Justice Department released 15 pages that were entirely redacted - shaded over in heavy black from top to bottom.Īll that was visible is the subject of the memo: "Guidance for the Minimization of Text Messages over Dual-Function Cellular Telephones" As one Reddit comment put it, " so transparent it's completely invisible."
Yes, the Department of Justice complied with the letter of the law and responded to a Freedom of Information Act request from the ACLU seeking insight into the Obama Administration's policy on intercepting text messages from cell phones.īut no, it didn't release any actual information.
The Justice Department responded to an ACLU request with a heavily redacted document.
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