The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been secretly collecting Americans’ private information in bulk, according to newly declassified documents that prompted condemnation from civil liberties watchdogs. Large parts of the letter, which was sent in April 2021 and declassified on Thursday, and documents released by the CIA were blacked out. The CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) have a foreign mission and are generally barred from investigating Americans or US businesses. Patrick Toomey, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said: “These reports raise serious questions about the kinds of information the CIA is vacuuming up in bulk and how the agency exploits that information to spy on Americans. Additional documents released by the CIA revealed limited details about a program to collect financial data against the Islamic State terrorist group.

Source: The Guardian February 12, 2022 09:06 UTC