EPIC, Coalition Urge Congress to Include Critical Reforms in Any Extension of FISA Section 702

Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on “Review and Reform: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Executive Accountability.” Ahead of that hearing, EPIC and a number of privacy and civil liberties organizations submitted a letter for the record to the Committee outlining critical policies needed to reform FISA section 702 prior to the reauthorization of the surveillance authority. Section 702 authorizes the targeting of non-U.S. persons reasonably thought to be outside the United States to obtain foreign intelligence but the authority nonetheless captures Americans’ communications. The coalition outlined critical 702 reforms including closing the backdoor search loophole and the data broker loophole. The coalition sent a similar letter to the House Judiciary Committee last year when the Committee held a hearing on FISA oversight. EPIC has been a staunch advocate for broad reform of Section 702. EPIC published a blog series— including one on warrantless 702 searches—explaining Section 702 and why it must be reformed.