Reauthorization failed with virtually no changes because a core group of lawmakers was strong; They know people are hungry for real reform that protects the privacy of our communications. We now have a 10-day extension to continue pressuring Congress to pass a real reform bill.
MPs held a rally late Thursday night to reject it proposed amendment He Hints at privacy protections, but would not have improved the status quo and would have reauthorized Section 702 for five more years.
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Tell Congress: 702 needs reform
Section 702 is full of problems, loopholes, and compliance issues that need to be fixed. The National Security Agency collects entire conversations being conducted with targets abroad and in the US – including Americans – and stores them in massive databases. The NSA then allows other agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to access untold amounts of that information. The FBI, in turn, takes a “spot-catcher” approach to this data: they argue that since it’s already been collected under a law, it’s okay for them to look at it.
Under current practice, The FBI can interrogate and even read the US side of that communication without a warrant. What’s more, the victims of this surveillance may not even know and will have very few ways of finding out that their communications monitored. EFF and other civil liberties advocates are trying to years to learn When the data collected through Section 702 is used as evidence against them.
Reforming Section 702 is even more urgent, as Senator Ron Wyden’s public statements have indicated.secret interpretationAbout the law that enables surveillance of Americans and the public “Dear Colleague” letter He sent questions to fellow senators about the FBI’s misuse of Section 702.
That’s right – the way the government conducts mass surveillance is so secret and unaccountable that the way they interpret the law is classified.
“In many cases these will be law-abiding Americans having completely legitimate, often sensitive conversations,” Widen wrote. “These Americans may include journalists, foreign aid workers, people with family members abroad – even women trying to get abortion medication from a foreign provider. Congress has a responsibility to protect our country from foreign threats and to protect the rights of these and other Americans.”
We have 10 days to make it clear to Congress: 702 needs real reforms. Not a blanket reauthorization. No pretense for change. Real improvement.
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Tell Congress: 702 needs reform
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