Surprising Things the U.S. Government Knows About You

Email history and transcripts

Thanks to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, government entities such as the National Security Agency don’t need a warrant to monitor communications of people in the U.S. and beyond.

Emails of Americans who are not targeted for surveillance can be gathered as byproducts of other investigations, a privacy violation at best.

While the stated goal is keeping an eye on communications relevant to U.S. foreign affairs to protect national security, a loophole permits monitoring of virtually anyone outside the country, including journalists, political and human rights activists, lawyers, scientists, students and business people.