November 28, 2013 | Online

NSA hoped to expose porn habits of 'radicals'

Hoping to take down Muslim radicals, the National Security Agency (NSA) started following the online sexual activity of people the organization felt were “radicalizing” others.

The six targets were revealed in the latest leak by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. According to the information, the NSA was gathering a list of vulnerabilities that could be used to help discredit the men, including “viewing sexually explicit material online” and “using sexually explicit persuasive language when communicating with inexperienced young girls.”

All of the men reside outside of the US.

"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," explained Shawn Turner, director of public affairs for National Intelligence.

"It's important to remember that the NSA’s surveillance activities are anything but narrowly focused -- the agency is collecting massive amounts of sensitive information about virtually everyone," countered Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Wherever you are, the NSA's databases store information about your political views, your medical history, your intimate relationships and your activities online," he added. "The NSA says this personal information won't be abused, but these documents show that the NSA probably defines 'abuse' very narrowly."

If the NSA already knows what you're looking at, no need to stop now!

Top-Secret Document Reveals NSA Spied On Porn Habits As Part Of Plan To Discredit 'Radicalizers' [The Huffington Post]