The Government Surveillance Reform Act Would Rein in Some of the Worst Abuses of Section 702

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With Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) set to expire at the end of the year, Congress is considering whether to reauthorize the law and if so, whether to make any necessary amendments to the invasive surveillance authority. 

While Section 702 was first sold as a tool necessary to stop foreign terrorists, it has since become clear that the government uses the communications it collects under this law as a domestic intelligence source. The program was intended to collect communications of people outside of the United States, but because we live in an increasingly globalized world, the government retains a massive trove of communications between people overseas on U.S. persons. Increasingly, it’s this U.S. side of digital conversations that are being routinely sifted through by domestic law enforcement agencies—all without a warrant. 

The congressional authorization for Section 702 expires in December 2023, and it’s in light of the current administration’s attempts to renew this authority that we demand that Congress must not reauthorize Section 702 without reforms. It’s more necessary than ever to pass reforms that prevent longstanding and widespread abuses of the program and that advance due process for everyone who communicates online.

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, and Sen. Mike Lee, with cosponsors Senators Tammy Baldwin, Steve Daines, Mazie Hirono, Cynthia Lummis, Jon Tester, Elizabeth Warren, and Edward Markey, along with Representatives Zoe Lofren, Warren Davidson have introduced the Government Surveillance Reform Act that would reauthorize Section 702 with many of these important safeguards in place.

EFF supports this bill and encourages Congress to implement these critical measures:

Government Queries of Section 702 Databases

Under the Fourth Amendment, when the FBI or other law enforcement entity wants to search your emails, it must convince a judge there’s reason to believe your emails will contain evide

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