EPIC Urges PCLOB to Push for Meaningful Reform of Section 702 Surveillance

In comments on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board’s Oversight Project examining section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), EPIC urged the Board to recommend that Congress prohibit “abouts” collection and warrantless backdoor searches. EPIC also urged the Board to recommend new and enhanced safeguards, including a larger role for FISC amici, the codification of protections for non-U.S. persons, and more robust notice requirements to criminal defendants. EPIC further recommended that the Board investigate the use of Section 702 collection in cybersecurity investigations due to the exponential increase in cyber-related querying.

EPIC has been a proponent of empowering the Board to conduct meaningful oversight of government surveillance since its inception. Most recently, EPIC urged the Board to investigate the use of facial recognition, aerial surveillance, fusion centers, and location data purchased from data brokers in domestic terrorism investigations. EPIC has previously urged the Board to conduct a review of surveillance under Executive Order 12333 and recommend suspending face surveillance across the federal government.

EPIC previously urged the Oversight Board to conduct a review of surveillance under Executive Order 12333. In 2020, EPIC and a coalition of 40 organizations urged the PCLOB to recommend suspending face surveillance across the federal government.