FOIA Litigation: Electronic Surveillance Systems

EFF v. Department of Justice, Civil Action No. 06-1708-CKK (D.D.C.) (filed October 3, 2006)

In this Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) seeks information about two electronic surveillance systems developed by the FBI: DCS-3000 and Red Hook.

Little is publicly known about these spying tools. DCS-3000 was developed in the wake of "Carnivore" or DCS-1000, a controversial surveillance system the FBI used several years ago to monitor online traffic through Internet service providers. One Department of Justice report said DCS-3000 was created to "to intercept personal communications services delivered via emerging digital technologies used by wireless carriers." According to the same report, Red Hook is a system developed to "collect voice and data calls and then process and display the intercepted information."

On May 7, 2007, a federal judge ordered the FBI to process and release documents responsive to EFF's request on a rolling basis. Those records will be posted here as EFF receives them.