Executive Summary

The essay, co‑authored with Cindy Cohn and published in Lawfare, traces how the 9/11 attacks spurred a shift from targeted wiretaps to mass surveillance of internet and telephone metadata. It argues that the legal and technical framework created for counter‑terrorism has expanded beyond its original purpose, becoming a routine tool for law enforcement agencies such as ICE. The authors warn that the unchecked growth of mass surveillance threatens civil liberties and undermines the rule of law.

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Intelligence Metadata - Source Publisher: Schneier on Security - Published Date: 2026-09-15T11:01:41+00:00 - Category: research

Original Description: This essay was written with Cindy Cohn, and originally appeared in Lawfare. One of the many legacies of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 is the government-wide shift from targeted surveillance—such as individual wiretaps or pen register/trap and trace orders—to mass surveillance techniques—such as tapping into the internet backbone or mass collection of telephone or internet metadata. The legal and technical architecture of modern mass surveillance, initially framed as a ne...

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