The NSA is Monitoring People’s Porn Habits to Discredit Them

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Should you ever end up on a government threat list, there is now reason to believe they could be monitoring your internet sex and porn history. Why? To discredit you.

The Huffington Post revealed Wednesday that secret NSA documents contain evidence the the U.S. government monitored the porn habits of suspected radicals in hopes that this information could “discredit” them to their followers.

The document, which you can read here, says that the signal intelligence (SIGNIT) program could be used to monitor internet porn:

Some of the vulnerabilities if exposed, would likely call into question a radicalizer’s devotion to the jihadist cause, leading to the degradation or loss of his authority. Examples of some of these vulnerabilities include: Viewing sexually explicit material online or using sexually explicit persuasive language when communicating with inexperienced young girls.

However, both The Huffington Post and former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald have reported that none of the six individuals targeted by this operation have ever been implicated in any terror plots.

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This revelation has brought a wave of criticism from activists. Especially problematic is how reminiscent this procedure is to previous U.S. intelligence operations, specifically J. Edgar Hoover’s reoccurring attempts at blackmailing civil rights and liberal leaders with recorded copies of their sexual encounters acquired through often-unwarranted listening devices.

The ACLU released the following statement Wednesday afternoon:

NEW YORK – The NSA considered discrediting six people by revealing surveillance evidence of their online sexual activity, visits to pornography websites, and other personal information, according to a report today in The Huffington Post. The article cited documents leaked by former NSA contactor Edward Snowden. The targets of the NSA’s plan were all Muslims whom the NSA characterized as “radicals” but who were not believed to be involved in terrorism. The documents say one of the targets was a “U.S. person,” a term describing American citizens and legal permanent residents, but all of the targets were reportedly outside the United States.

American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer had this reaction:
“This report is an unwelcome reminder of what it means to give an intelligence agency unfettered access to individuals’ most sensitive information. One ordinarily associates these kinds of tactics with the secret police services of authoritarian governments. That these tactics have been adopted by the world’s leading democracy – and the world’s most powerful intelligence agency – is truly chilling.”