EPIC, Coalition Call on Government to Declassify Type of Company at Issue in New FISA Definition

On May 9, EPIC joined a coalition of over 20 civil society organizations in calling on Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify the type of service provider at issue in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) proceeding that led Congress to expand the universe of companies subject to compelled cooperation under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The new language enacted by Congress was written in vague and expansive terms, even though the alleged purpose—to cover data centers—was reported publicly. In the letter, the coalition emphasized that “[d]eliberately writing overbroad surveillance authorities and trusting that future administrations will decide not to exploit them is a recipe for abuse,” and called on Attorney General Garland and Director Haines to declassify the information. EPIC has published a blog series focused on explaining Section 702 and the need to reform it.

EPIC and a bipartisan coalition of civil society groups have called for broad reform to Section 702 and related surveillance authorities, and recently urged Congress to reject this “terrifying” expansion of Section 702.