Summary
This week, Congress is expected to vote on a bill that would update key surveillance authorities. The legislation has been packaged as a reform but is, in reality, an attempt to vastly expand the government’s spying powers. The new amendment would still permit the government to compel the assistance of a wide range of additional entities and persons in conducting surveillance under FISA 702. The breadth of the new definition is obvious from the fact that the drafters felt compelled to exclude such ordinary places such as senior centers, hotels, and coffee shops. Hamadanchy said he expects that there might be an effort to strip the bill of its more controversial policies. The Biden administration has lobbied hard for the bill to pass.
