SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A person shows their current U.S. passport at their home in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 11, 2022. (Photo: Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
Wyden Slams 'Unfettered Access' for Law Enforcement to Passport Data of 145 Million Americans
"Sen. Wyden is right to raise the alarm," said one privacy rights advocate, noting that current policy "allows untold federal agents to engage in problematic fishing expeditions."
Nov 04, 2022
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden on Friday released a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding reforms to the practice of allowing 25 federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies "unfettered access" to the passport application data of over 145 million Americans.
"The department has voluntarily taken on this role, and in doing so, prioritized the interests of other agencies over those of law-abiding Americans."
Yahoo News, which first revealed the letter Thursday, noted that the Oregon Democrat uncovered the State Department's practice during his ongoing probe into the outlet's reporting about Operation Whistle Pig, a leak investigation launched by officials at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) National Targeting Center.
The letter explains that according to the public version of a report on the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) review of the incident, "a CBP officer in a unit that was supposed to be looking into forced labor abuses inappropriately accessed the passport application of a U.S. journalist for purposes of 'vetting'" the reporter.
Wyden stressed to Blinken that "in the normal course of criminal investigations and intelligence collection, federal officers must rely on legal processes," such as subpoenas or court orders, to obtain such personal information, and "the fact that many of the same records are readily available to federal agents through direct access to State Department passport applications removes any checks and invites exactly the kind of abuses detailed in the OIG report."
"The department's mission does not include providing dozens of other government agencies with self-service access to 145 million Americans' personal data," the letter highlights. "The department has voluntarily taken on this role, and in doing so, prioritized the interests of other agencies over those of law-abiding Americans. While there is a legitimate role for the use of this information by law enforcement, the current unregulated system of interagency access to millions of Americans' records goes far beyond what a reasonable person would expect or tolerate."
With a deadline of December 9, the senator asked the secretary to provide him with a list of all agencies with access to the data and any agreements governing it; details on how often agencies have accessed the data; and what lessons the State Department has learned from "clear abuses" by CBP personnel, along with action it is taking to prevent similar problems in the future.
Wyden also called on the State Department to:
- Develop a policy to determine whether an agency is accessing the data for a legitimate purpose;
- Notify Americans when their data is accessed, with clearly defined exceptions;
- Annually publish statistics on data requests; and
- Work with other agencies that have expertise on privacy to ensure its policies align with best practices.
"The State Department did not respond to Yahoo News' questions about Wyden's letter and if it would come up with the plan his office requested," the outlet reported Thursday.
Meanwhile, Rachel Levinson-Waldman, managing director of the Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told Yahoo News that "the use of passport data to vet Americans for no justifiable purpose sets off alarm bells."
"This data includes such sensitive information as an applicant's Social Security number, date of birth, gender identity, and every name they have ever used," Levinson-Waldman noted.
"If the State Department has no mechanism to vet the purposes for which government agents seek to access this data, it is extremely vulnerable to misuse and abuse, whether to conduct unsanctioned fishing expeditions on political antagonists or to stalk a former domestic partner," she continued. "Sen. Wyden's inquiries are critical, and the State Department should take immediate steps to significantly tighten access to this data and track the uses to which it is put."
Sean Vikta, senior policy counsel at Demand Progress Education Fund, similarly welcomed the senator's letter in a statement Friday.
"Sen. Wyden is right to raise the alarm regarding the State Department's mishandling of sensitive personal information of 145 million Americans," he said. "We have already seen passport information misused by federal agencies, including to gather detailed personal information on a congressional staffer, a journalist, and her family, and it is highly likely that an investigation will identify additional abuses."
"Sharing information of this kind, especially in such an indiscriminate manner and without privacy protections or legally required procedures," he warned, "allows untold federal agents to engage in problematic fishing expeditions and creates vulnerabilities like the one that allowed foreign adversaries to steal 22.1 million records concerning applications for security clearances."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
brennan center for justiceus department of homeland securityprivacytony blinkendemand progressron wydenus state department
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden on Friday released a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding reforms to the practice of allowing 25 federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies "unfettered access" to the passport application data of over 145 million Americans.
"The department has voluntarily taken on this role, and in doing so, prioritized the interests of other agencies over those of law-abiding Americans."
Yahoo News, which first revealed the letter Thursday, noted that the Oregon Democrat uncovered the State Department's practice during his ongoing probe into the outlet's reporting about Operation Whistle Pig, a leak investigation launched by officials at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) National Targeting Center.
The letter explains that according to the public version of a report on the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) review of the incident, "a CBP officer in a unit that was supposed to be looking into forced labor abuses inappropriately accessed the passport application of a U.S. journalist for purposes of 'vetting'" the reporter.
Wyden stressed to Blinken that "in the normal course of criminal investigations and intelligence collection, federal officers must rely on legal processes," such as subpoenas or court orders, to obtain such personal information, and "the fact that many of the same records are readily available to federal agents through direct access to State Department passport applications removes any checks and invites exactly the kind of abuses detailed in the OIG report."
"The department's mission does not include providing dozens of other government agencies with self-service access to 145 million Americans' personal data," the letter highlights. "The department has voluntarily taken on this role, and in doing so, prioritized the interests of other agencies over those of law-abiding Americans. While there is a legitimate role for the use of this information by law enforcement, the current unregulated system of interagency access to millions of Americans' records goes far beyond what a reasonable person would expect or tolerate."
With a deadline of December 9, the senator asked the secretary to provide him with a list of all agencies with access to the data and any agreements governing it; details on how often agencies have accessed the data; and what lessons the State Department has learned from "clear abuses" by CBP personnel, along with action it is taking to prevent similar problems in the future.
Wyden also called on the State Department to:
- Develop a policy to determine whether an agency is accessing the data for a legitimate purpose;
- Notify Americans when their data is accessed, with clearly defined exceptions;
- Annually publish statistics on data requests; and
- Work with other agencies that have expertise on privacy to ensure its policies align with best practices.
"The State Department did not respond to Yahoo News' questions about Wyden's letter and if it would come up with the plan his office requested," the outlet reported Thursday.
Meanwhile, Rachel Levinson-Waldman, managing director of the Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told Yahoo News that "the use of passport data to vet Americans for no justifiable purpose sets off alarm bells."
"This data includes such sensitive information as an applicant's Social Security number, date of birth, gender identity, and every name they have ever used," Levinson-Waldman noted.
"If the State Department has no mechanism to vet the purposes for which government agents seek to access this data, it is extremely vulnerable to misuse and abuse, whether to conduct unsanctioned fishing expeditions on political antagonists or to stalk a former domestic partner," she continued. "Sen. Wyden's inquiries are critical, and the State Department should take immediate steps to significantly tighten access to this data and track the uses to which it is put."
Sean Vikta, senior policy counsel at Demand Progress Education Fund, similarly welcomed the senator's letter in a statement Friday.
"Sen. Wyden is right to raise the alarm regarding the State Department's mishandling of sensitive personal information of 145 million Americans," he said. "We have already seen passport information misused by federal agencies, including to gather detailed personal information on a congressional staffer, a journalist, and her family, and it is highly likely that an investigation will identify additional abuses."
"Sharing information of this kind, especially in such an indiscriminate manner and without privacy protections or legally required procedures," he warned, "allows untold federal agents to engage in problematic fishing expeditions and creates vulnerabilities like the one that allowed foreign adversaries to steal 22.1 million records concerning applications for security clearances."
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden on Friday released a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanding reforms to the practice of allowing 25 federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies "unfettered access" to the passport application data of over 145 million Americans.
"The department has voluntarily taken on this role, and in doing so, prioritized the interests of other agencies over those of law-abiding Americans."
Yahoo News, which first revealed the letter Thursday, noted that the Oregon Democrat uncovered the State Department's practice during his ongoing probe into the outlet's reporting about Operation Whistle Pig, a leak investigation launched by officials at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) National Targeting Center.
The letter explains that according to the public version of a report on the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) review of the incident, "a CBP officer in a unit that was supposed to be looking into forced labor abuses inappropriately accessed the passport application of a U.S. journalist for purposes of 'vetting'" the reporter.
Wyden stressed to Blinken that "in the normal course of criminal investigations and intelligence collection, federal officers must rely on legal processes," such as subpoenas or court orders, to obtain such personal information, and "the fact that many of the same records are readily available to federal agents through direct access to State Department passport applications removes any checks and invites exactly the kind of abuses detailed in the OIG report."
"The department's mission does not include providing dozens of other government agencies with self-service access to 145 million Americans' personal data," the letter highlights. "The department has voluntarily taken on this role, and in doing so, prioritized the interests of other agencies over those of law-abiding Americans. While there is a legitimate role for the use of this information by law enforcement, the current unregulated system of interagency access to millions of Americans' records goes far beyond what a reasonable person would expect or tolerate."
With a deadline of December 9, the senator asked the secretary to provide him with a list of all agencies with access to the data and any agreements governing it; details on how often agencies have accessed the data; and what lessons the State Department has learned from "clear abuses" by CBP personnel, along with action it is taking to prevent similar problems in the future.
Wyden also called on the State Department to:
- Develop a policy to determine whether an agency is accessing the data for a legitimate purpose;
- Notify Americans when their data is accessed, with clearly defined exceptions;
- Annually publish statistics on data requests; and
- Work with other agencies that have expertise on privacy to ensure its policies align with best practices.
"The State Department did not respond to Yahoo News' questions about Wyden's letter and if it would come up with the plan his office requested," the outlet reported Thursday.
Meanwhile, Rachel Levinson-Waldman, managing director of the Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, told Yahoo News that "the use of passport data to vet Americans for no justifiable purpose sets off alarm bells."
"This data includes such sensitive information as an applicant's Social Security number, date of birth, gender identity, and every name they have ever used," Levinson-Waldman noted.
"If the State Department has no mechanism to vet the purposes for which government agents seek to access this data, it is extremely vulnerable to misuse and abuse, whether to conduct unsanctioned fishing expeditions on political antagonists or to stalk a former domestic partner," she continued. "Sen. Wyden's inquiries are critical, and the State Department should take immediate steps to significantly tighten access to this data and track the uses to which it is put."
Sean Vikta, senior policy counsel at Demand Progress Education Fund, similarly welcomed the senator's letter in a statement Friday.
"Sen. Wyden is right to raise the alarm regarding the State Department's mishandling of sensitive personal information of 145 million Americans," he said. "We have already seen passport information misused by federal agencies, including to gather detailed personal information on a congressional staffer, a journalist, and her family, and it is highly likely that an investigation will identify additional abuses."
"Sharing information of this kind, especially in such an indiscriminate manner and without privacy protections or legally required procedures," he warned, "allows untold federal agents to engage in problematic fishing expeditions and creates vulnerabilities like the one that allowed foreign adversaries to steal 22.1 million records concerning applications for security clearances."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.