OpenStack 06/10/2017 (p.m.)

• White House, Intel Chiefs Want To Make Digital Spying Law Permanent | HuffPost

  Tags: surveillance state, NSA, 702, legislation

  • The White House and U.S. intelligence chiefs Wednesday backed making permanent a law that allows for the collection of digital communications of foreigners overseas, escalating a fight in Congress over privacy and security.

    The law, enshrined in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is due to expire on December 31 unless Congress votes to reauthorize it, but is considered vital by U.S. intelligence agencies.

    Privacy advocates have criticized the law though for allowing the incidental collection of data belonging to millions of Americans without a search warrant.

    The push to make the law permanent may lead to a contentious debate over renewal of Section 702 in Congress, where lawmakers in both parties are deeply divided over whether to adopt transparency and oversight reforms

  • Reuters reported in March that the Trump administration supported renewal of Section 702 without any changes, citing an unnamed White House official, but it was not clear at the time whether it wanted the law made permanent.

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