The War on Terror-era legislation that authorized decades of civil liberties-eroding mass surveillance is set to expire on June 14. Congress must overhaul the bill to protect our privacy - or allow it to expire.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was passed in 2008 as a counterterrorist measure, but has a long history of abuse from the federal government, especially when it comes to surveillance. Congress has a choice to make: Will they greenlight warrantless mass surveillance, or hold the line and reject any effort to move forward without serious privacy guardrails. FISA as it is currently written:
- Allows warrantless backdoor surveillance of people in and out of the country
- Offers little to no protections against the administration targeting critics, activists, religious minorities, or communities of color
- Actively chills our freedoms of speech and association
Two years ago, this reauthorization legislation sailed through Congress with bipartisan support. That can’t happen again. Democratic leadership and members must hold the line for our civil liberties. And any Democrat or Republican voting for unfettered spying on US citizens should hear from their constituents.
Let your Members of Congress know you expect them to reject reauthorization unless it includes significant reforms to protect our civil liberties against this authoritarian regime.
Dear Senator/Representative,
I am writing today to urge you to demand major reforms to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and to withhold your vote from reauthorization without reforms.
Specifically, it is essential that you withhold your vote from reauthorization until the legislation is amended to:
- Close the backdoor search loophole: The government should not continue to be allowed to access personal communications without a warrant to consistently protect personal privacy.
- Close the data broker loophole: Intelligence agencies and law enforcement must be held to the same standard of privacy protection when purchasing data from commercial brokers. In the age of AI this protection is essential to preventing unprecedented government collection of our data.
Now more than ever in the era of mass AI, personal privacy and civil liberties must be protected. I expect you to hold the line to protect your constituents from unnecessary and warrantless mass surveillance by refusing to reauthorize FISA without reform.