FISA Section 702 Reauthorization
Civil liberties organizations and privacy experts have tuned their noses up at 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) since it was first added to the legislation in 2008. In a nutshell, Section 702 authorizes the collection and dissemination of communications of non-US citizens located outside the country but it also collects torrents of communications from US citizens who happened to communicate with contact. Opponents of the “incidental collection” as it’s called say it amounts to a loophole for federal agencies to collect Americans’ communications without a warrant.
Section 702 is on the list because it is set to expire at the end of the year if lawmakers don’t vote to reauthorize it. Congress historically isn’t exactly quick to relinquish control of powerful national security tools, but experts believe this year could be different due to a growing fashion of Republicans who’ve become die-hard opponents of federal agencies. It also doesn’t help matters that FISA was reportedly used to spy on a former Trump aide.
