Yasir Afifi was dismayed when he discovered that he has been under surveillance for quite a long time. Believing that he did not do anything wrong, he filed a lawsuit against some FBI agents. Afifi found a GPS device on his car when he brought the vehicle to a mechanic. The 20-year old American-born student of Egyptian descent was surprised why he was put under spying eyes.
The mechanic was about to change oil when he found the device. Using magnets, it was securely placed between the right rear wheel and exhaust. Both of them could not identify what it was so they posted its image online. Instead of receiving responses or comments identifying the device, another sad thing happened. While he was driving two days later, agents who were wearing bullet-proof vests pulled him over. They demanded that he return the device.
Afifi was assisted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in filing the lawsuit. He claimed that there was violation of his civil rights because the FBI agents did it without warrant. His lawyers surmised that his Middle East roots and frequent travels there might have triggered such action. He has two brothers in Egypt whom he supports. His father was a well-known Islamic-American community leader who died last year.
An FBI spokesperson decided to keep the details of the lawsuit and how the agency kept watch of Afifi. According to him, the FBI works under well-established Department of Justice and FBI guidelines. It should implement the most appropriate investigative steps or techniques as provided by law. It goes without saying that guidelines have been set to protect civil and constitutional rights.
Afifi is pursuing a course in business marketing at Mission College while at the same time working as computer salesman. He announced at a news conference that agents did not give clear answers as to the reason why he was watched. He did not deny that he makes frequent phone calls overseas. This could be the reason for such FBI action, but he insisted he did not break the law.
Privacy violation issues center on how the monitoring was conducted. Washington appeals court ruled out that the gathering of GPS data from individuals is considered a “search” hence it requires a warrant. The Obama administration in defense to FBI’s action said the court’s decision was “vague and unworkable”. Further it argued that government could no longer use GPS as a valuable tool in surveillance if the court would not reverse its ruling.
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