NSA’s warrantless surveillance program has been one of the biggest talks lately. Last week, the US House of Representatives voted to successfully renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This law allows the National Security Agency monitor communications of non-US citizens living outside the US.
After successfully passing the House of Representatives, today, US Senate voted in favor of renewing the law for another six years, according to Reuters.
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Act is one of the biggest discussed and most controversial, mostly because it gives NSA such wide-reaching powers and doesn’t require government agencies to get a warrant before doing any surveillance. They are allowed to search through already collected communications without a warrant.
Groups such as the ACLU and Electronic Frontier Foundation have spoken a lot about the law. Many have also called for the law to have more oversight to prevent abuse and protections for US citizens whose communications may fall under the law’s coverage. Last year, a group of Senators from both Republican and Democrat affiliations attempted to introduce reforms to Section 702. Senator Rand Paul at the time said, “The American people deserve better from their own government than to have their internet activity swept up in warrantless, unlimited searches that ignore the Fourth Amendment.”
The bill will now head to President Trump’s desk where he is expected to sign it into law by the end of the week. After signing, the renewal of Section 702 will go into effect.
