Background talk with Byron Tau: How intelligence agencies are buying data

Intelligence services, the military and law enforcement bodies can gain access to enormous amounts of data by buying commercial data from data brokers and internet firms. This growing but often still unnoticed method of state surveillance is a profound challenge to both civil liberties and national security. In the United States, after several media reports, this became subject of controversial debates and triggered legislative reforms. In most European states however, this method still draws very little attention.

What is known about the scale and specific cases of cooperation between commercial data brokers and intelligence agencies? We are delighted that Byron Tau, a former investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal and author of the new book Means of Control: How the Hidden Alliance of Tech and Government Is Creating a New American Surveillance State went into a conversation with SNV's Thorsten Wetzling to explore the subject further.

The background talk took place on 26 June at 3:00 pm CET.

On Bryon Tau:

Byron is an investigative and enterprise journalist who specializes in law, courts and national security. He’s the author of the book “Means of Control” about how consumer data is increasingly being repurposed for government surveillance. He currently works for NOTUS, a nonprofit newsroom in Washington D.C. Previously, he worked at the Wall Street Journal, where he served as a White House reporter during the Obama administration; covered Congress with a focus on the intelligence, oversight and judiciary committees; and was a legal affairs and national security correspondent. Before that, he worked at Politico, where he covered the White House, lobbying, campaign finance and politics.