FBI investigations must be pointed

Any “spying on Americans” needs a court order, says Bob McNeil, the founder of the American Citizen Party, calling for “pointed” investigations at the agency rather than data collection.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been using fictitious companies to hide its wide-scale surveillance program, a report revealed on Tuesday.

McNeil, a candidate for the 2016 presidential race, said he was against eh idea of “unregulated flying and spying” calling the move “unconstitutional”.

As it is “funded by American taxpayers”, McNeil suggested, the agency should be more discreet about what data it is collecting.

The FBI says the flights are used for specific, ongoing investigations whilst an AP review found that in a period of one month, the FBI flew surveillance planes over 30 cities in 11 states all over the United States.

“I understand the need for the FBI to conduct investigations but their investigations must be pointed, specific, and they must have a court order or warrant anyway,” McNeil said.

FBI spokesman Christopher Allen claimed in a statement that the program is not clandestine. "Specific aircraft and their capabilities are protected for operational security purposes."

The government claims that aerial surveillance is aimed at conducting criminal, terrorism or intelligence probes, but activists say the program is undermining civil liberties of citizens.

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who in 2013 revealed the existence of a massive spying program run by the National Security Agency, has said that US government surveillance methods far surpass those of an ‘Orwellian’ state, referring to George Orwell’s classic novel “1984,” which describes a society where personal privacy is continuously invaded by spy agencies.

NT/NT

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk