(DailyDig.com) – According to a new report by the National Intelligence Director, the federal government is purchasing massive amounts of private information generated by internet browsers, smartphones, and automobiles, producing results similar to those of invasive surveillance methods and posing serious privacy risks.
According to the research, commercially available information (CAI) includes data that previously may have been gathered within tightly controlled limits. However, a limited number of Americans appear to understand the issue, and certainly fewer of them can prevent it.
The report says US government is using CAI to gather as much data as possible about individual Americans. The volume of this data has grown to the point that it is able to reproduce the findings of more invasive forms of surveillance, including physical monitoring, espionage, and wiretapping.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) requested the study, and Avril Haines, the National Intelligence Director, subsequently had it commissioned. He insisted that the surveillance community come clean about how they use CAI. The findings were surprising.
The data extends well beyond the scope of common knowledge. Everything from fitness trackers and automobiles to social media and smartphone applications leaves extensive digital footprints. The report issued a warning, saying that the availability of such specifics poses risks to people’s physical and mental health as well as their professional and personal reputations.
The report recommended that the intelligence sector strengthen its rules, procedures, and practices around data collecting. The lack of supervision and transparency in their collection of private information was also highlighted.
The study also recognized that the United States government has the capability to assign human identities to the information and that few rules address the warrantless gathering of such data. According to Wyden, there will be few real constraints on government monitoring if they can purchase their way past the due process of the Fourth Amendment.
The research also shows that privacy threats are not limited to the United States. The data these businesses collect is also available for purchase by foreign spy services.
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