from the no-debate-allowed dept
The most serious opposition to extending Section 702 surveillance authorities since the immediate aftermath of the Snowden leaks came from a perhaps-unexpected source: House Republicans.
Of course, this isn’t an altruistic effort. This is purely politically motivated, driven by abuses of surveillance authorities by the FBI. The FBI has always done this. It just so happens that this time, Republicans and Trump acolytes got wrapped up in the FBI’s perpetual abuses of its FISA powers.
One would have hoped for a more unified opposition. But the periodic renewal of executive surveillance powers is always a political plaything, often opposed by those who don’t have their guy in the White House and supported by those who do. This was simply more of the same, only more so, since Republicans are now more willing than ever to engage in paper-waving and saber-rattling, especially if doing so might ingratiate them with a voting base willing to engage in insurrection to give their favorite lame duck president another shift at the wheel of the nation.
Also, as usual, Senator Ron Wyden and other privacy-focused legislators have offered their own opposition to clean renewals of surveillance powers. Section 702 expires at the end of the year, and these legislators hoped to head that off by introducing an expansive set of reforms that might force 702 to be a bit more constitutionally compliant.
The Government Surveillance Reform Act — sponsored by Roy Wyden, Mike Lee, Warren Davidson, and Zoe Lofg ..
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