Surveillance Infrastructure
The Surveillance Infrastructure capture lane traces 390 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.
Top 10 actors in this lane
10 actors · 1850–2026
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory
Status
confirmed
alleged
disputed
| Date | Event | Lanes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-06-05 | Snowden Reveals NSA Mass Surveillance and PRISM Program
3 src Edward Snowden · Glenn Greenwald · Laura Poitras · Bart Gellman · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2013-03-01 | Amazon AWS Wins $600 Million CIA Cloud Contract
3 src Amazon Web Services · Central Intelligence Agency · IBM | confirmed | |
| 2013-01-01 | Kansas Implements Kris Kobach's Proof-of-Citizenship Voting Law and Expands Interstate Crosscheck
4 src Kris Kobach · Kansas Secretary of State | confirmed | |
| 2012-08-09 | Google Fined Record $22.5M for Deliberately Overriding Safari Privacy Settings
4 src Google · Federal Trade Commission · Apple · Jon Leibowitz (FTC Chairman) · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2012-06-01 | New Orleans Police Launch Secret Palantir Predictive Policing Program
3 src NOPD · Palantir Technologies · Mitch Landrieu · Peter Thiel | confirmed | |
| 2012-02-27 | WikiLeaks Publishes 5 Million Stratfor Emails Revealing Private Intelligence Firm's Surveillance of Activists and Corporate Espionage
4 src WikiLeaks · Julian Assange · Jeremy Hammond · Stratfor · +10 | confirmed | |
| 2012-01-01 | Amazon Implements Automated Worker Surveillance and Tracking System
3 src Jeff Bezos · Amazon | confirmed | |
| 2012-01-01 | Nonprofit Hospital CEO Compensation Explodes: 42.5% Increase While Community Benefit Stagnates
3 src Kaiser Permanente · Ascension Health · Tower Health · Bernard Tyson | confirmed | |
| 2011-09-01 | FBI Surveils Occupy Wall Street as "Terrorist Threat" Before First Protest
3 src Federal Bureau of Investigation · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Occupy Wall Street · Joint Terrorism Task Force | confirmed | |
| 2011-09-01 | LAPD Launches Operation LASER Predictive Policing Program with Palantir
3 src LAPD · Palantir Technologies · Craig Uchida · Peter Thiel | confirmed | |
| 2011-01-01 | Geofeedia Founded to Enable Location-Based Social Media Surveillance
3 src Phil Harris · Mike Mulroy · Scott Mitchell · In-Q-Tel | confirmed | |
| 2010-09-24 | FBI Raids Anti-War Activists' Homes in Coordinated Nationwide Operation
3 src Federal Bureau of Investigation · Department of Justice · Anti-war activists · Grand jury | confirmed | |
| 2010-07-19 | Washington Post Publishes "Top Secret America," Revealing 1,931 Private Companies in Intelligence Work and Massive Revolving Door
4 src Dana Priest · William Arkin · The Washington Post · Office of the Director of National Intelligence | confirmed | |
| 2010-01-01 | NSO Group Founded in Israel to Develop Pegasus Spyware
3 src Shalev Hulio · Omri Lavie · Niv Karmi · NSO Group | confirmed | |
| 2009-11-17 | Climategate Email Hack Manufactures Controversy Before Copenhagen Summit
4 src Climate Research Unit · University of East Anglia · Phil Jones · Michael Mann · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2009-07-01 | In-Q-Tel and Google Ventures Co-Invest in Social Media Surveillance Firm Recorded Future
3 src In-Q-Tel · Google Ventures · Recorded Future · Christopher Ahlberg | confirmed | |
| 2009-01-01 | Dataminr Founded to Provide Real-Time Social Media Surveillance, Later Backed by CIA Venture Capital
3 src Ted Bailey · Sam Hendel · Jeff Kinsey · In-Q-Tel · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2008-05-12 | ICE Conducts Largest Immigration Raid in U.S. History at Postville, Iowa Agriprocessors Plant, Arresting 389 Workers While Management Faces No Criminal Charges Despite Systematic Labor Law Violations and Exploitation
4 src Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Agriprocessors Inc. · Sholom Rubashkin · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2008-03-20 | Sprint Nextel GPS Location Data Sharing with Law Enforcement
4 src Sprint Nextel · National Security Agency · Bush Administration · Law Enforcement Agencies | confirmed | |
| 2008-01-01 | Palantir Gotham Platform Released for Intelligence and Defense Applications
3 src Palantir Technologies · Central Intelligence Agency · Intelligence Community | confirmed | |
| 2007-08-01 | Verizon's Deep Involvement in NSA Surveillance Programs
3 src Bush Administration · National Security Agency · Verizon Communications | confirmed | |
| 2007-01-01 | Cellebrite Launches Universal Forensic Extraction Device (UFED) for Law Enforcement
3 src Cellebrite | confirmed | |
| 2007-01-01 | Israel Passes Defense Export Control Law, Creating Framework That Enables Pegasus as Diplomatic Weapon
3 src Israeli Ministry of Defense · Defense Export Control Agency (DECA) · Benjamin Netanyahu · NSO Group | confirmed | |
| 2005-01-01 | CIA's In-Q-Tel Makes Strategic Investment in Palantir Technologies
2 src In-Q-Tel · Central Intelligence Agency · Palantir Technologies | confirmed | |
| 2004-10-27 | Google Acquires CIA-Backed Keyhole, Foundation for Google Earth
3 src Google · Keyhole Inc. · In-Q-Tel · Central Intelligence Agency | confirmed | |
| 2004-02-01 | Accenture Awarded Competitive DHS US-VISIT Contract
4 src Accenture · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Asa Hutchinson · Smart Border Alliance | confirmed | |
| 2003-09-24 | Congress Officially Defunds Total Information Awareness Program
3 src U.S. Congress · United States Senate · U.S. House of Representatives · George W. Bush · +5 | confirmed | |
| 2003-08-29 | John Poindexter Resigns from DARPA After TIA Scandal, Surveillance Architect Exits to Private Sector
3 src John Poindexter · DARPA · Information Awareness Office · SAIC · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2003-06-15 | NSA Awards AT&T $500 Million Multi-Year Surveillance Infrastructure Contract
3 src George W. Bush · Michael Hayden · AT&T Leadership · NSA Officials | confirmed | |
| 2003-05-01 | Palantir Technologies Founded by Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, and PayPal Engineers
3 src Peter Thiel · Alex Karp · Nathan Gettings · Joe Lonsdale · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2003-02-01 | In-Q-Tel Invests in Keyhole's EarthViewer During Iraq War Buildup
3 src In-Q-Tel · Keyhole Inc. · National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency · CNN | confirmed | |
| 2002-11-09 | New York Times Exposes Total Information Awareness Surveillance Program, Sparking Public Outcry
3 src New York Times · John Markoff · DARPA · John Poindexter · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2002-08-02 | Poindexter Announces DARPA Total Information Awareness Program
3 src John Poindexter · DARPA · Information Awareness Office · George W. Bush administration | confirmed | |
| 2001-09-21 | AT&T Establishes Mass Internet Surveillance Infrastructure for NSA
3 src AT&T Corporate Leadership · National Security Agency · Bush Administration · Mark Klein (AT&T Technician) | confirmed | |
| 2001-09-04 | Oracle Hires CIA Executive Director David Carney, Establishes Information Assurance Center
3 src Oracle · David W. Carney · Central Intelligence Agency · Larry Ellison | confirmed | |
| 2000-04-05 | Duncan Campbell Delivers Interception Capabilities 2000 Report to European Parliament, Forces ECHELON Inquiry
3 src Duncan Campbell · European Parliament · STOA (Scientific and Technological Options Assessment) · National Security Agency · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2000-01-01 | Stock Options Become Primary Executive Compensation, Aligning CEO Interests with Short-Term Stock Price Manipulation
3 src Corporate boards · Compensation consultants · Wall Street | confirmed | |
| 1999-11-20 | Wassenaar Arrangement Cryptography Provisions Liberalized, US Export Controls Follow
3 src Wassenaar Arrangement Secretariat · Department of Commerce · William Daley · William Reinsch · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1999-09-01 | CIA Establishes In-Q-Tel as Revolutionary Venture Capital Arm
3 src Central Intelligence Agency · George Tenet · Gilman Louie · Norman Augustine · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1999-04-27 | DARPA's Brian Sharkey Coins "Total Information Awareness" at DARPATech Conference
3 src Brian Sharkey · John Poindexter · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency · Syntek Technologies | confirmed | |
| 1999-04-05 | NSA Launches NSANet Classified Network Consolidation, Fort Meade Reaches "Crypto City" Scale
3 src Michael Hayden · National Security Agency · Barbara McNamara | confirmed | |
| 1999-01-01 | Cellebrite Founded in Israel to Develop Mobile Phone Data Transfer Technology
3 src Cellebrite · Avi Yablonka · Yaron Baratz · Yuval Aflalo | reported | |
| 1998-10-30 | NSA's Menwith Hill Station UK Expansion Completed, Reaches 1,200+ Personnel and Peak ECHELON Capacity
4 src National Security Agency · Government Communications Headquarters · Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) | confirmed | |
| 1998-09-01 | Narus Founded, Israeli-Origin Deep-Packet-Inspection Firm Becomes NSA Infrastructure Supplier
3 src Narus Inc. · Ori Cohen · Stas Khirman · National Security Agency · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1998-01-01 | CIA Begins Developing In-Q-Tel Concept -- Intelligence Community Plans Entry Into Venture Capital
4 src George Tenet · Central Intelligence Agency · Sue Gordon · Ruth David · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1997-10-01 | FBI Begins Development of Carnivore/DCS1000 Internet Surveillance System
4 src Louis Freeh · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Marcus Thomas · Electronic Frontier Foundation · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1997-06-01 | NSA Creates Signals Intelligence Automation Research Center, Binney and Wiebe Lead Bulk-Collection Technical Design
4 src William Binney · J. Kirk Wiebe · Ed Loomis · National Security Agency · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1996-07-01 | Nicky Hager Publishes Secret Power, First Detailed Public Description of ECHELON System
3 src Nicky Hager · Government Communications Security Bureau · National Security Agency · Craig Potton Publishing · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1996-04-24 | Clinton Signs AEDPA, Expands Federal Surveillance and Creates FTO Terrorism Framework
3 src Bill Clinton · Orrin Hatch · Bob Dole · Joe Biden · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1996-01-11 | DOJ Drops Zimmermann PGP Investigation, Marks Crypto Wars Policy Inflection
2 src Phil Zimmermann · Department of Justice · U.S. Customs Service · Michael Yamaguchi · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1996-01-01 | George Friedman Founds Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor), the "Shadow CIA" of Private Geopolitical Intelligence
4 src George Friedman · Stratfor · Matthew Baker | confirmed | |
| 1994-10-25 | Clinton Signs CALEA Requiring Telecom Networks to Be Wiretap-Ready By Design
4 src Bill Clinton · Louis Freeh · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Edward Markey · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1994-09-13 | Intelligence Community Deploys Intelink, Classified Web-Based Network Enabling Bulk Information Sharing
3 src James Woolsey · R. James Woolsey · Central Intelligence Agency · Defense Intelligence Agency · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1994-09-13 | Violent Crime Control Act Expands Federal Wiretap Predicates and Roving Wiretap Authority
2 src Bill Clinton · Joe Biden · Department of Justice · 103rd Congress | confirmed | |
| 1994-06-02 | Matt Blaze Publishes Clipper Chip Security Flaw, Demonstrates Key-Escrow Bypassability
3 src Matt Blaze · AT&T Bell Labs · National Security Agency · National Institute of Standards and Technology | confirmed | |
| 1994-06-01 | FISA Court Annual Report Reveals 99%+ Approval Rate Over 15 Years, Rubber-Stamp Critique Crystallizes
3 src Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court · Department of Justice · Office of Intelligence Policy and Review · Center for National Security Studies | confirmed | |
| 1994-01-12 | Whitewater Investigation Launches Under Special Counsel Robert Fiske
3 src Bill Clinton · Hillary Clinton · Robert Fiske · Janet Reno | confirmed | |
| 1993-04-16 | Clinton White House Announces Clipper Chip, NSA-Designed Backdoor Encryption with Government Key Escrow
3 src Bill Clinton · Al Gore · National Security Agency · National Institute of Standards and Technology · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1993-02-26 | Port Authority Hires Kroll Associates After 1993 World Trade Center Bombing -- Private Intelligence Enters Counterterrorism
4 src Jules Kroll · Kroll Associates · Brian Michael Jenkins · Port Authority of New York and New Jersey | confirmed | |
| 1993-02-01 | US Customs Opens Criminal Investigation of Phil Zimmermann Over PGP Encryption Export
3 src Phil Zimmermann · U.S. Customs Service · RSA Security · Department of Justice · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1992-03-01 | FBI Launches Digital Telephony Initiative Demanding Wiretap-Ready Design in New Networks
3 src William Sessions · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Louis Freeh · National Telecommunications and Information Administration · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1991-06-15 | FBI Cellular Surveillance Pilot Programs Establish Mass-Collection Template Before CALEA
3 src Federal Bureau of Investigation · William Sessions · Harris Corporation · National Security Agency | confirmed | |
| 1990-04-25 | Treasury Creates FinCEN, Centralizing Financial Surveillance of American Banking
3 src Nicholas Brady · Department of the Treasury · Financial Crimes Enforcement Network · George H.W. Bush | confirmed | |
| 1988-08-12 | Duncan Campbell's New Statesman Article First Publicly Names ECHELON Surveillance Network
3 src Duncan Campbell · Margaret Newsham · Government Communications Headquarters · National Security Agency · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1986-10-21 | Congress Passes Electronic Communications Privacy Act, Codifies Third-Party Doctrine for Digital Communications
3 src Robert Kastenmeier · Patrick Leahy · Ronald Reagan · 99th Congress | confirmed | |
| 1985-09-04 | Inslaw Files Bankruptcy Accusing DOJ of Stealing PROMIS Software for Intelligence Use
4 src William Hamilton · Inslaw Inc. · Department of Justice · Edwin Meese · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1985-01-01 | Maxwell Begins Distribution of Backdoored PROMIS Software to KGB and China
3 src Robert Maxwell · KGB · Chinese Military Intelligence · PLA-2 · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1985-01-01 | PROMIS Software Creates Global Intelligence Surveillance Network Through Maxwell Distribution
3 src Robert Maxwell · US Intelligence · Soviet KGB · Multiple intelligence agencies · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1984-01-01 | Manhattan Institute Organizational Profile: Urban Policy Infrastructure and CIA-Connected Think Tank
4 src Manhattan Institute · William J. Casey · Antony Fisher · Charles Murray · +6 | confirmed | |
| 1982-09-20 | Bamford's The Puzzle Palace Published, First Book-Length Public History of NSA After 30 Years of Denial
2 src James Bamford · National Security Agency · Houghton Mifflin · Department of Justice | confirmed | |
| 1981-12-04 | Reagan Signs Executive Order 12333, Loosening Intelligence Restrictions and Enabling Private Contractor Involvement
4 src Ronald Reagan · Central Intelligence Agency · National Security Agency · Defense Intelligence Agency · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1978-10-25 | Carter Signs Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Creating FISC, Nominal Constraint on Domestic Surveillance
3 src Jimmy Carter · Ted Kennedy · Birch Bayh · Church Committee · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1978-01-01 | Manhattan Institute Founded by CIA Director William Casey - Intelligence-Policy Crossover
3 src William J. Casey · Antony Fisher · Charles Murray · George Kelling · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1977-08-12 | Weinberger v. Equifax: Fifth Circuit Guts Anti-Pinkerton Act, Clearing Path for Private Intelligence Industry
5 src U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals · Equifax Inc. · Government Accountability Office | confirmed | |
| 1977-01-01 | Oracle Corporation Founded to Build CIA Database, Named After CIA Project
3 src Larry Ellison · Robert Miner · Central Intelligence Agency · Oracle | confirmed | |
| 1976-06-23 | Supreme Court Miller Decision Holds Bank Records Have No Fourth Amendment Protection, Creates Third-Party Doctrine
3 src Lewis Powell · William Rehnquist · Thurgood Marshall · William Brennan · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1975-04-26 | Church Committee Exposes Systemic Intelligence Agency Abuses
3 src Frank Church · Central Intelligence Agency · National Security Agency · Federal Bureau of Investigation | confirmed | |
| 1972-06-19 | Supreme Court Keith Decision Requires Warrants for Domestic Security Surveillance, Reserves Foreign Intelligence Question
3 src Lewis Powell · Damon Keith · White Panther Party · Department of Justice · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1971-03-08 | COINTELPRO Exposed - FBI's Secret War on Civil Rights and Dissent Revealed
3 src Federal Bureau of Investigation · J. Edgar Hoover · Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI | confirmed | |
| 1970-07-14 | Nixon Approves Huston Plan Authorizing Illegal Surveillance, Rescinded After Hoover Objects
3 src Richard Nixon · Tom Charles Huston · J. Edgar Hoover · Richard Helms · +4 | confirmed | |
| 1967-08-15 | CIA Launches Operation CHAOS, Systematic Domestic Surveillance of Anti-War Movement
3 src Richard Helms · Lyndon B. Johnson · Central Intelligence Agency · James Angleton · +2 | confirmed | |
| 1967-07-01 | NSA Launches Project MINARET Watchlist Program Targeting U.S. Citizens
3 src Marshall Carter · Louis Tordella · National Security Agency · Lyndon B. Johnson · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1966-10-15 | Black Panther Party Formation in Oakland Triggers Immediate FBI COINTELPRO Surveillance and State Repression
4 src Bobby Seale · Huey P. Newton · FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover · California State Legislature | confirmed | |
| 1966-01-01 | Wackenhut Corporation Acquires HUAC Staffer's Files, Claims Dossiers on 4+ Million Americans
4 src George Wackenhut · Wackenhut Corporation · Karl Baarslag · House Un-American Activities Committee | confirmed | |
| 1959-05-29 | Congress Passes NSA Act of 1959 (P.L. 86-36) Exempting NSA From Disclosure of Its Own Functions
3 src 86th Congress · Dwight D. Eisenhower · National Security Agency · Department of Defense | confirmed | |
| 1952-11-04 | Truman Creates National Security Agency by Classified Directive, Existence Classified for 23 Years
3 src Harry S. Truman · Ralph Canine · National Security Agency · Armed Forces Security Agency | confirmed | |
| 1951-12-06 | Truman Commissions Brownell Committee to Investigate AFSA Failure, Blueprint for NSA Created
3 src Harry S. Truman · George Brownell · Armed Forces Security Agency · National Security Council | confirmed | |
| 1949-05-20 | Armed Forces Security Agency Created, Failed Precursor That Drove NSA Consolidation
2 src Louis Johnson · Joint Chiefs of Staff · Armed Forces Security Agency · Earl Stone | confirmed | |
| 1946-03-05 | US-UK Sign Secret BRUSA/UKUSA Signals Intelligence Agreement, Foundation of Five Eyes
3 src Hoyt Vandenberg · Patrick Marr-Johnson · State-Army-Navy Communication Intelligence Board · London Signals Intelligence Board · +1 | confirmed | |
| 1945-09-01 | Project SHAMROCK Begins, NSA Obtains Copies of All International Cables for 30 Years
3 src Armed Forces Security Agency · National Security Agency · Western Union · ITT Communications · +2 | confirmed |