A bipartisan Senate duo is pushing to require a warrant before accessing information on Americans swept by the government foreign spying activities, reigniting a battle that failed with a tie vote in the House.
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) are proposing a similar amendment to add a warrant requirement to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Section 702 only allows the government to spy on foreigners abroad. However, people who communicate with these targets have their interactions collected during the process.
This is a controversial issue that resulted in a 212-212 vote in the House. Supporters see it as a way to safeguard Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights, while opponents – including the White House and the intelligence community – argue that it would weaken the spying tool and hinder law enforcement from acting promptly on information.
“I have sat through numerous classified briefings on Section 702 queries and listened carefully to the government’s concerns about having to obtain court approval in order to review the contents of Americans’ communications,” said Durbin in a statement.
“Our bipartisan amendment addresses these concerns by including exceptions to the warrant requirement for emergencies or cybersecurity attacks, or when an American gives consent to the search. This will ensure that there will not be any delays that threaten national security. But if the government wants to spy on the private communications of Americans, they should be required to get approval from a judge—just as our Founders intended.”
The intelligence community has indicated that the provision would be impractical.
Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, pointed out that in many cases, agencies such as the FBI use the 702 database to gather information on pot