Weekly Spotlight: A Disappointing Bill

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On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), including Section 702. POGO has long advocated for substantial reforms to this controversial provision — which has enabled the government to engage in mass, warrantless surveillance — and to close the data broker loophole, which allows law enforcement agencies to circumvent the Fourth Amendment by purchasing personal data rather than getting a warrant for it.

We are profoundly disappointed to see the House succumb to fearmongering, passing a bill that continues to let government agencies gather information on the American people without a warrant via backdoor searches, and that expands surveillance authorities to permit suspicionless searches for any non-U.S. person or immigrant seeking permission to travel to the United States.

We appreciate the work you’ve been doing to push Congress to end warrantless surveillance once and for all. With your support, surveillance hawks needed to fight harder than ever before. This vote is a reminder that constitutional principles must be defended — irrespective of the political party in power. The bill now heads to the Senate where we will continue fighting to stop final passage.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Public Comment: Face Recognition Technology and Civil Rights

POGO comment to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on face recognition technology used by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.

Read More

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“In this case, I think it’s probably pretty clear that the only reason that Ted Cruz has a podcast is because he’s a Senator.”

Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Senior Government Affairs Manager, in the Daily Beast

ONE LINERS

“The data form that is being used has six questions, and one of them is the person’s name, So, if you’re talking about a missing data field, you’re already talking about a huge percentage of the total information that’s being solicited.”

David Janovsky, Senior Policy Analyst, The Constitution Project, in the Las Vegas Sun 

“[Gag orders also have] huge consequences for the public, who need to know that our government is … serving in the people’s best interest above all.”

Joe Spielberger, Policy Counsel, in the Washington Post