Senate Approves Extension of Warrantless Surveillance Law Despite Privacy Concerns

The Senate approved an extension of a warrantless surveillance law known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in a late-night session on Saturday. The bill, which extends the law for two years, passed with a vote of 60 to 34, despite earlier uncertainty about its fate.

National security officials hailed the passage of the bill, emphasizing its importance in protecting the country from terrorist threats. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland praised the legislation, calling Section 702 “indispensable” to the Justice Department’s efforts to safeguard Americans from various threats.

However, privacy advocates expressed concerns about the implications of the law, arguing that it poses a threat to Americans’ rights. The defeated amendments included measures that would have required the government to obtain a warrant before accessing Americans’ communications collected under the program.

Despite the contentious debate, the bill ultimately passed just before the midnight deadline. The Senate rejected proposals to eliminate provisions expanding the types of service providers that can be compelled to participate in the program, as well as a measure to bar the government from buying personal information about Americans from data brokers without a warrant.

The law allows the government to collect the communications of foreigners abroad without a warrant, even when they are communicating with Americans. Critics argue that the program infringes on Americans’ privacy rights, as their messages can be swept up in the surveillance of foreign targets.

The passage of the bill comes after a series of debates and negotiations in Congress, with lawmakers grappling over the balance between national security interests and civil liberties. The extension of Section 702 will have far-reaching implications for surveillance practices in the United States, sparking both praise and criticism from different quarters.