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There are new revelations about the National Security Agency spying tactics - this time about how the NSA targeted the personal habits of alleged Muslim 'radicalizers', Huff Post reported.
According to a top-secret document leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the NSA has been gathering records of online sexual activity and evidence of visits to porn sites as part of its plan to discredit the reputation of people the agency deems suspected terrorists.
The document, dated October 3, 2012, identifies six targets, all Muslims, as examples of how personal vulnerabilities can be learned through electronic surveillance and then exploited to harm a target's credibility.
Among the vulnerabilities listed by the NSA that can be exploited are "viewing sexually explicit material online" and "using sexually explicit persuasive language when communicating with inexperienced young girls."
Unsurprisingly, none of the six individuals listed in the document by the NSA has been accused of being involved directly in a terror plot, and all but one are believed to reside outside of the United States. Only one is described as a "U.S" resident, which means he is entitled to greater legal protection against NSA surveillance than foreigners, The Guardian reported.
Moreover, the NSA possesses embarrassing sexually explicit information about at least two of the targets monitoring their online activity. One of the two persons said to be involved in "online promiscuity" had previously been imprisoned for inciting hatred against non-Muslims while others had been involved in promoting al-Qaeda propaganda.
The director of the NSA is listed as the originator of the document, with the listed recipients including officials from the Departments of Justice and Commerce and DEA. The report states that the information is based largely on "Sunni extremist communications" obtained through FBI surveillance programs.
In response, Shawn Turner, director of public affairs for National Intelligence defended the actions of the NSA in an email to Huff Post.
"Without discussing specific individuals, it should not be surprising that the US Government uses all of the lawful tools at our disposal to impede the efforts of valid terrorist targets who seek to harm the nation and radicalize others to violence," he said.
Yet, civil liberty activists argue the findings give rise to serious concerns about surveillance abuse:
'Wherever you are, the NSA's databases store information about your political views, your medical history, your intimate relationships and your activities online. The NSA says this personal information won't be abused, but these documents show that the NSA probably defines 'abuse' very narrowly," Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union said.
The report comes shortly after a group of United Nations experts adopted a right to privacy resolution. The U.N Human Rights Committee said it was "deeply concerned at the negative impact" the interception of data "including extraterritorial surveillance" could have when carried out on a mass scale", BBC reported.
Comment: It's safe to say that the NSA is prepared to use such blackmail on anyone considered 'radical', which is pretty much everyone these days.