Top 5 Things You Need to Know About the FBI's New 'Digital Ghost' Surveillance Program
- The FBI has quietly launched a new initiative called "Digital Ghost," which uses advanced AI to track encrypted communications across apps like Signal and Telegram in real-time.
- Privacy advocates are sounding the alarm, claiming the program bypasses traditional warrant requirements by leveraging a legal loophole from the 1980s involving "third-party data."
- Internal documents leaked to a whistleblower reveal that Digital Ghost can reconstruct deleted messages and identify users behind VPNs, raising concerns about mass surveillance of ordinary Americans.
- The FBI insists the program is only used for national security threats, like counterterrorism and child exploitation, but critics warn it could be expanded to target political dissent or journalists.
- Congress is now under pressure to hold hearings, with a bipartisan group of senators drafting a bill to require a public court order before Digital Ghost can be deployed against U.S. citizens.