[inigyou]

My chosen interpretation is that they've let it expire because they've found enough ways to spy on us that they don't need it. Ranging from getting everything they need from advertising companies and Flock, to just ignoring the law and doing it anyway because they know it won't be enforced.

[nacozarina]

Correct, the authorization was only needed for the govt to spy on you directly. Private business has no such restrictions, the govt can now buy any info from Palantir, Google, Lexis, ad infinitum

[diogenes_atx]

According to an academic study, US law enforcement agencies at every level - federal, state and local - no longer need warrants in order to get access to most data on American citizens. It is easier for law enforcement to purchase data from private firms because there are fewer constitutional protections, reporting requirements and appellate checks on private sector surveillance and data collection, which enables police to circumvent privacy laws.

US law enforcement agencies get much of their information from data brokerage firms, which collect and aggregate information from public records and private sources, e.g., drivers licenses, mortgages, social media, retail loyalty card purchases, professional credentials, charities’ donor lists, bankruptcies, payday lenders, warranty registrations, and other sources who sell personal data. This information is then sold to customers willing to pay for it. Not even the FTC can find out exactly where the data brokers get their information because brokerages cite trade secrecy as an excuse not to divulge their sources.

Law enforcement agencies not only uses data collected by private firms, they also use corporate IT platforms and proprietary software applications (e.g., Palantir, Microsoft, Amazon) to store, share and analyze data. Palantir provides an interface that runs on top of other data systems, including legacy systems, making it possible to link data points across separate systems.

Source: Sarah Brayne (2020) Predict and Surveil: Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing, Oxford University Press, pp. 24-25, 41-42.

[notepad0x90]

But still, it's very weird. You'd think this admin want to be able to round up people and disappear them with FISA court rulings, being able to spy on them first is usually the logical path.

They can purchase data from 3rd parties, but it is a felony to wiretap someone without the government asking you to. You need the user's cooperation to install an app with a nasty ToS or something of that nature. Lots of people are using VPNs too. This section is, from what I understand, what allowed them to add a "gag order" to the surveillance demand to companies as well? If they want google or apple to spy on someone without a warrant, this is the only way to force them without them making that information known to the public.

[vitally3643]

Current admin has demonstrated very clearly that they don't need excuses or plausible deniability. The only law is whoever is willing to stop them, which is, apparently, nobody.

[inigyou]

Two - three? - people tried very directly but they were probably staged to justify him getting even more power.

[lovich]

The courts occasionally will stop them but it appears that just committing crimes as fast as possible still accomplishes 99% of their goals without any way to fix the results of the crime.