After months of delays, false starts, and interventions by lawmakers working to preserve and expand the US intelligence community’s spy powers, the House of Representatives voted on Friday to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for two years.
Legislation extending the program—controversial for being abused by the government—passed in the House in a 273–147 vote. The Senate has yet to pass its own bill.
Section 702 permits the US government to wiretap communications between Americans and foreigners overseas. Hundreds of millions of calls, texts, and emails are intercepted by government spies each with the “compelled assistance” of US communications providers.
The government may strictly target foreigners believed to possess “foreign intelligence information,” but it also eavesdrops on the conversations of an untold number of Americans each year. (The government claims it is impossible to determine how many Americans get swept up by the program.) The government argues that Americans are not themselves being targeted and thus the wiretaps are legal. Nevertheless, their calls, texts, and emails may be stored by the government for years, and can later be accessed by law enforcement without a judge’s permission.
The House bill also dramatically expands the statutory definition for communication service providers, something FISA experts, including Marc Zwillinger—one of the few people to advise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC)—have publicly warned against.
“Anti-reformers not only are refusing common-sense reforms to FISA, they’re pushing for a major expansion of warrantless spying on Americans,” US senator Ron Wyden tells WIRED. “Their amendment would force your cable guy to be a government spy and assist in monitoring Americans’ communications without a warrant.”
The FBI’s track record of abusing the program kicked off a rare détente last fall between progressive Democrats and pro-Trump Republicans—both bothered equally by the FBI’s targeting of activists, journalists, and a sitting member of Congress. But in a major victory for the Biden administration, House members voted down an amendment earlier in the day that would’ve imposed new warrant requirements on federal agencies accessing Americans’ 702 data.
“Many members who tanked this vote have long histories of voting for this specific privacy protection,” says Sean Vitka, policy director at the civil-liberties-focused nonprofit Demand Progress, “including former speaker Pelosi, Representative Lieu, and Representative Neguse.”
Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240412200505/https://www.wired.com/story/house-section-702-vote/
The fact that the representatives we elected suck ass is hardly proof we dont have a functioning democracy, and especially not an authoritarian style oligarchy. It screams of privilege to pretend we live in the same political conditions as saudi arabia or russia.
We can elect candidates that prioritize privacy.
Oh you in America live in far WORSE conditions than those in Saudi Arabia but you’re too brainwashed to see it.
And you don’t elect your politicians. The majority of the electorate is stupid and easily swayed. A little bit of money and you’ve bought their vote easily. Doesn’t matter if the others actually vote on issues. Cleatus liked the TV jingle where the politician shot a deer and crouched near an American flag. That’s all he needs to know to vote for them.
And once elected your voice means nothing. Not hyperbolic. Many studies have shown that the popular opinion on a subject has zero impact on the outcome. Not like 40% or 20% or 10% or 5%, but 0%. The exception is if you are in the wealthier 1%+ class, then you have roughly a 30% to 40% chance of getting your class’ popular outcome.
That’s not a democracy. It’s not a republic. It’s authoritarianism with a oligsrchic slant. Americans are quick to deride Russia as not have democracy even though they too go through the politician motions. The US is no different. You go through the motions, the outcome is irrelevant. If you can’t see that, you’re way too brought in by the propaganda.