Dead-of-Night Proposal A Massive Step Backwards that Makes Americans Even More Vulnerable to FISA Abuses
Washington, D.C — On Thursday evening, House Republican leaders started rushing a five-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that still allows for backdoor searches and makes it easier for the government to use FISA data to prosecute Americans. Under current law, FISA data, often gathered without court approval, generally can’t be used for criminal proceedings against people in the U.S. The House Republican proposal eliminates that prohibition, making it easier to use 702 data against Americans in court (Section 2(c) removes 50 USC 1881e(a)(2)). Demand Progress is part of a bipartisan coalition urging Congress to close loopholes in the law that allow the government to bypass the courts to surveil Americans.
The following is a statement from Demand Progress Senior Policy Advisor Hajar Hammado:
“The House Republican leadership’s deceitful FISA proposal would be a massive step backwards for Americans’ privacy rights. Not only does the proposal fail to include any meaningful warrant requirement, it also makes it easier for the government to use FISA against Americans. It’s an insult to the genuine privacy concerns of the American people to offer a FISA proposal that makes them even more vulnerable to government surveillance abuses.
We urge all members of Congress to oppose this dangerous, bad faith proposal at every stage and instead fight for real surveillance reform that closes the data broker and backdoor search loopholes.”
A robust set of resources on the need for privacy reforms for FISA is available here and here, and additional background, context, polling, reform demands, resources and other information is available here. Video of Drop Site News asking members about their support for a clean FISA renewal is here.