WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of FBI searches of a vast foreign intelligence repository for information about Americans and people in the United States plummeted over the last year from the prior 12 months, according to a U.S. government report released Tuesday.
The release of the annual report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence comes more than a week after a bitterly divided Congress voted to reauthorize a surveillance program that administration officials say is crucial for national security but that civil liberties advocates say results in privacy abuses of Americans.
The program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, permits the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of targeted foreigners located in other countries — including when those subjects are in contact with Americans or other people inside the U.S.
Revealed: Brit tourist, 19, subjected to sex attack in Majorca 'was gang
Weaving Bright Future for Chinese, African Women
Hoping for a World Without Illness
Inheriting Craft Helps Woman Promote Hometown's Revitalization
Red Lobster seeks bankruptcy protection after closing some restaurants
HKSAR chief executive congratulates athletes of Hong Kong, China for Asiad achievements
Bringing History of Women Red Army Soldiers to Life
Mohammad Mokhber: Who is Iran’s acting president?
Student fatally shot, suspect detained at Georgia's Kennesaw State University
Marine Scientist Pursues Dream by Studying Coral