Digital Library

EPIC Launches Campaign to Reform or Sunset FISA Section 702

Ahead of the potential sunset of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) at the end of 2023, EPIC has launched a campaign to significantly reform the sweeping surveillance authority or let it sunset.

• FISA Section 702

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Updates

FISA Section 702: Reform or Sunset

• Intelligence Surveillance

• PATRIOT Act

• Surveillance Oversight

• Campaigns

Reforming 702: Ensure Meaningful Avenues for Judicial Redress

Throughout the history of Section 702, there has been a severe lack of judicial review and accountability, whether in criminal or civil proceedings, despite FISA’s express provision of such remedies. This lack of robust judicial review leaves us all worse off, with no opportunity to challenge the lawfulness of these programs and remedy surveillance harms.

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Analysis

EPIC, Coalition Call for Hearings on FISA Section 702, Broader Surveillance Reform

EPIC has joined a coalition of civil society organizations in writing a letter to the chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, as well as the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, urging them to hold hearings on the need to reform FISA Section 702 and other government surveillance authorities.

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Updates

Reps. Jayapal, Davidson Call for Significant Reforms to FISA Section 702

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) issued a joint statement calling for significant reforms to FISA Section 702, cautioning that “programs operating under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and claims of inherent executive authority remain a threat to Americans’ constitutional right to privacy.”

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Updates

Rep. LaHood Says He Was Congressman Unlawfully Queried by FBI Under Section 702

At a House Intelligence Committee hearing today, Rep. Darin LaHood says the FBI unlawfully searched for information about him in databases of information collected under FISA Section 702.

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Updates

Reforming 702: Strengthening FISA Amici

While amici have been incorporated into FISA Court review on a limited basis, they continue to have a narrowly circumscribed role and lack authority to truly advocate on behalf of the public, severely limiting their value. This is particularly true in the context of programmatic surveillance like under Section 702, where amici involvement is inconsistent despite the sweeping scope of these surveillance programs and their impact on Americans.

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Analysis

Reforming 702: End Warrantless Backdoor Searches

In the second post of a running blog series on Section 702 ahead of its reauthorization deadline in December 2023, EPIC outlines what warrantless backdoor searches are and how they have historically been abused.

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Analysis

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Challenging NSA Surveillance

The Supreme Court declined to hear Wikimedia v. NSA, Wikimedia’s challenge to the NSA’s mass surveillance of Internet communications under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires at the end of 2023.

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Updates

Congressman Biggs Asks FBI to Provide Information on Latest FBI Section 702 Abuses

Rep. Biggs asked the FBI to provide information on several abuses highlighted in a recent government audit, including queries of Section 702 databases for the name of a U.S. congressman and a local political party.

• Intelligence Surveillance

• Surveillance Oversight

• Updates