Campaign for Liberty supports the USA Rights Act

Campaign for Liberty is supporting the USA Rights Act (S. 1997) legislation introduced by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden. The legislation resorts constitutional protections to Section 702 of the FISA Act.

Campaign for Liberty members should call their Senators and tell them to cosponsor the USA Rights Act (S. 1997).

For more information on the bill see the following letter:

October   24,   2017

Dear   Senators:

On   behalf   of   a   broad   coalition   of   civil   liberties   organizations,   we   write   in   support   of   the   USA   RIGHTS   Act, legislation   that   contains   meaningful   reforms   to   Section   702   of   the   Foreign   Intelligence   Surveillance   Act (“FISA”),   which   is   set   to   expire   at   year’s   end.   These   reforms   are   imperative   given   our   government’s historical   abuse   of   surveillance   authorities,   contemporary   noncompliance   with   this   authority,   and   the danger   posed   by   potential   future   abuses.1

Many   of   our   organizations   have   long   opposed   Section   702   because   it   has   been   used   by   the   government to   unconstitutionally   collect   Americans’   communications   without   a   warrant   or   individualized   approval from   a   judge.   Our   concerns   regarding   this   collection   are   compounded   by   the   government’s   routine searches   of   Section   702   data   for   the   information   of   U.S.   citizens   and   residents   despite   the   fact   that Section   702   explicitly   prohibits   the   targeting   of   such   persons.   The   government   conducts   these   searches in   broadly   defined   “foreign   intelligence”   investigations   that   may   have   no   nexus   to   national   security,   in criminal   investigations   that   bear   no   relation   to   the   underlying   purpose   of   collection,   and   even   in   the course   of   determining   whether   to   open   an   assessment,   which   is   a   preliminary   phase   of   investigations where   there   are   no   facts   to   believe   someone   has   committed   a   criminal   act.

The   USA   RIGHTS   Act   is   markedly   superior   to   all   current   legislative   proposals   to   reauthorize   Section 702.   While   it   does   not   resolve   every   concern   with   Section   702   surveillance,2   its   reforms   are   significantly more   robust   than   those   contained   in   the   House’s   USA   LIBERTY   Act.3

The   USA   RIGHTS   Act   would:

● Create   a   search   warrant   requirement    that   closes   the   so-called   “backdoor   search   loophole” through   which   the   government   searches—without   first   obtaining   a   court-issued   warrant   based   on  probable   cause—for   information   about   U.S.   persons   or   persons   inside   the   U.S.   It   provides   an exception   for   emergencies,   but   requires   a   court   warrant   afterward.   This   provision   contrasts   with other   proposals,   including   the   introduced   version   of   the   USA   LIBERTY   Act,   which   fails   to completely   close   the   “backdoor   search   loophole.”

● Prohibit   the   collection   of   domestic   communications   and   permanently   end   “about” collection ,   an   illegal   practice   the   National   Security   Agency   recently   stopped   because   of persistent   and   significant   compliance   violations   that   allowed   for   warrantless   collection   of communications   that   merely   mention   an   intelligence   target.   Collections   would   be   limited   to communications   that   are   “to”   or   “from”   a   target.   The   bill   would   also   prohibit   the   intentional collection   of   wholly   domestic   communications.

● Make   clear   the   government   must   give   notice  w   hen   it   uses     information   obtained   or   derived from   Section   702   surveillance   in   proceedings   against   U.S.   persons   or   people   on   U.S.   soil.   Notice allows   a   defendant   to   assert   his   or   her   constitutional   rights,   and   is   a   necessary   backstop   to ensure   that   foreign   intelligence   surveillance   is   not   being   misused,   including   in   contexts   that   do not   involve   national   security.

● Address   challenges   litigants   face   in   establishing     standing    to   challenge   surveillance   under Section   702.   Because   Section   702   surveillance   programs   operate   largely   in   secret,   litigants   often face   significant   challenges   in   establishing   standing,   which   is   required   in   order   to   challenge unconstitutional   surveillance   in   court.   This   bill   addresses   these   challenges,   facilitating appropriate   court   oversight   of   the   program.

● Establish  a  4-year  sunset  of  Section  702,   which  would  terminate  the  surveillance  authority unless   Congress   reauthorizes   it   again   in   2021.   This   helps   to   ensure   regular   Congressional   and public   oversight   of   how   the   law   has   worked   and   what   reforms   or   changes   may   be   necessary.

● Provide  transparency  around  the  number  of  U.S.  persons  surveilled  under  Section  702,  unless   the   government   says   that   conducting   such   an   estimate   is   not   feasible,   and   if   it   is   not,   the bill   would   require   the   government   to   provide   a   public   explanation.   Understanding   the   number   of people   surveilled   under   Section   702   is   critical   to   gauging   the   intrusiveness   of   the   law   and   how broadly   the   authorities   are   being   used.   The   USA   RIGHTS   Act   would   help   to   ensure   we   have   an accurate   count.

● Provide  new  accountability  and  transparency  provisions,   including  strengthening  the  Privacy and   Civil   Liberties   Oversight   Board,   clarifying   that   FISA   Court   opinions   prior   to   the   enactment   of the   USA   FREEDOM   Act   must   be   declassified,   permitting   greater   provider   transparency,   and strengthening   the   FISC   amici.

This   bill   provides   robust,   meaningful   reforms   to   Section   702   that   are   necessary   to   protect   Americans’ privacy.   We   urge   Congress   to   expeditiously   enact   the   USA   RIGHTS   Act.

Sincerely yours,

Advocacy for Principled Action in Government
American Civil Liberties Union
American Library Association
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Association of Research Libraries
Brennan Center for Justice Campaign for Accountability
Campaign for Liberty
Center for Democracy & Technology
Center for Popular Democracy
Color Of Change
CREDO Action
Demand Progress Action
Democracy for America
FirstAmendment.com
Free Press Action Fund
Freedom of the Press Foundation
FreedomWorks
Government Accountability Project
Government Information Watch Indivisible
Media Alliance
NAACP
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Coalition Against Censorship
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
New America’s Open Technology Institute
Oakland Privacy
OpenTheGovernment
People For the American Way
Presente Action
Project On Government Oversight
Public Citizen
Restore The Fourth
RootsAction.org
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Sunlight Foundation
The Constitution Project
The Nation
The Woodhull Freedom Foundation
UltraViolet

 

For   further   discussion,   see   “Institutional   Lack   of   Candor:   A   primer   on   recent   unauthorized   activity   by   the Intelligence   Community,”   Demand   Progress   (Sept.   21,   2017),   available   at https://s3.amazonaws.com/demandprogress/reports/FISA_Violations.pdf ;   “A   History   of   FISA   Section   702 Compliance   Violations,”   Open   Technology   Institute   at   New   America   (Sept.   28,   2017),   available   at https://www.newamerica.org/oti/blog/history-fisa-section-702-compliance-violations/# ;   Letter   to   Chairman   Goodlatte and   Ranking   Member   Conyers   on   the   risk   of   overbroad   domestic   law   enforcement   use   of   Section   702   (July   10, 2017),   available   at    https://www.openthegovernment.org/sites/default/files/702-Coalition-Letter_July2017.pdf .

2   Section   702   authorizes   the   NSA   to   target   individuals   who   may   be   wholly   unrelated   to   national   security   so   long   as they   may   have   information   that   is   relevant   to   U.S.   foreign   affairs.   As   such,   almost   any   foreigner   abroad   could   be targeted   for   surveillance,   including   lawyers,   journalists,   activists,   and   businesspeople.   Many   groups   have   urged that   the   law   be   reformed   to   limit   surveillance   under   Section   702   to   only   that   which   is   necessary   for   national security.   While   the   USA   RIGHTS   Act   does   not   narrow   the   scope   of   authorized   collection   under   Section   702,   it   does include   a   transparency   provision   that   would   provide   some   clarity   as   to   the   purposes   for   which   the   FISA   Court authorizes   the   government   to   conduct   surveillance   under   Section   702   —   a   first   step   toward   accomplishing   the overall   goal.

3   The   USA   LIBERTY   Act   caused   sufficient   concern   that   47   organizations   withheld   support   from   that   legislation upon   its   introduction.   https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/702_house_bill_letter_10-13.pdf

 

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