FBI head Christopher Wray (pictured) doesn’t see what all the fuss is about. Just renew FISA section 702 already!

The FBI and NSA’s warrantless spying exemption is about to expire (at the end of the year, or in April—depending who you ask). Battle’s raging in Washington about what to with section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Renew it, let it lapse, or replace it wholesale.

Fourth Amendment be damned. In today’s SB Blogwatch, we think of the children.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: LVGP will be odd.

Privacy, Schmivacy

What’s the craic? Tonya Riley drives in with the story—“Senate Urged Not to Extend Surveillance Authority in Stopgap”:

“Black Lives Matter”
Section 702 of [FISA] allows federal law enforcement to collect and store communications sent by non-US persons outside of the country. It’s set to expire at the end of the year. … More than 30 civil liberties and privacy groups wrote to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) … urging him to exclude language reauthorizing [the] surveillance program from a must-pass government spending bill.
…
The writers point to “routine” abuses of the Section 702 program, including improper searches by the FBI. The FISA court has found wrongful uses of the tool by the FBI, including searches of a US senator and Black Lives Matter protesters. … The American Civil Liberties Union, Demand Progress, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice, among others, signed the letter.

What’s the biggie? Dude, you’re getting Dell Cameron—“US Privacy Groups Urge Senate Not to Ram Through NSA Spying Powers”:

“Government Surveillance Reform Act”
The 702 program is controversial for its collection of communications of “US persons.” The program legally targets roughly a quarter million foreigners each year, gathering the content of their text messages, emails, and phone calls, but collaterally intercepts [a] large amount of American communications as well. This interception takes place with the compelled cooperation of US telecommunications companies that handle internet traffic, … without a warrant and without evidence [of] a crime.
…
A comprehensive privacy bill called the Government Surveillance Reform Act, led in part by veteran Senate Intelligence Committee member Ron Wyden … would impose several reforms of the 702 program, ensuring the FBI obtained a warrant before querying the database using “US Person” identifiers. The GSRA is widely supported by the civil liberties groups whose letter advises Schumer against a short-term extension of Section 702.

How did we get here? Tim Cushing describes Hill business as usual—“Senate Undercuts Section 702 Reform Efforts By Stapling Blanket Approval To A Must-Pass Budget Bill”:

“Domestic surveillance”
This is purely politically motivated, driven by abuses of surveillance authorities. … The FBI has always done this. … The periodic renewal of executive surveillance powers is always a political plaything, often opposed by those who don’t have their guy in the White House and supported by those who do.
…
Also, as usual, Senator Ron Wyden and other privacy-focused legislators have offered their own opposition to clean renewals of surveillance powers. [They hoped to introduce] an expansive set of reforms that might force 702 to be a bit more constitutionally compliant. … Those reforms would hopefully deter the FBI’s abuse of these powers, as well as introduce a host of new protections for Americans’ data, no matter which third party is doing the collection.
…
Status quo has always been the name of the game. While these powers may experience periodic resistance, at the end of the day both parties [want] these powers available. … And that means a power … supposed to be used to target foreign subjects of interest will continue to be used to engage in domestic surveillance.

What does the letter say? Dear Majority Leader Schumer:

“Trust of the American people”
Section 702 has been routinely abused in ways that violate Americans’ fundamental civil liberties and civil rights. … The undersigned groups strongly oppose even a short-term reauthorization of Section 702 and urge you to keep any such provision out of the continuing resolution and any other must-pass legislation.
…
FBI agents have used this surveillance authority … to gain warrantless access to the communications of tens of thousands of protesters, racial justice activists, 19,000 donors to a congressional campaign, journalists, and members of the U.S. Congress … with agents conducting warrantless searches for the communications of a U.S. senator, a state senator, and a state court judge who contacted the FBI to report civil rights violations by a local police chief. NSA agents, for their part, have abused the authority to search for the communications of online dating prospects and potential tenants.
…
A short-term reauthorization of Section 702 … would demonstrate a blatant disregard for the civil liberties and civil rights of the American people. … We urge you not to betray the trust of the American people.

And the argument for extending 702 as-is, is? Jessica Lyons Hardcastle explains—“War of words escalates”:

“De facto ban”
As the deadline draws near, and reform looms, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are pulling out all the stops to convince lawmakers to greenlight Section 702 without making any changes. … FBI director Christopher Wray made yet another impassioned plea to US lawmakers to kill a proposed warrant requirement, [doubling] down on his usual Section 702 rhetoric:
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“Loss of this vital provision, or its reauthorization in a narrowed form, would raise profound risks. … A warrant requirement would amount to a de facto ban, because query applications either would not meet the legal standard to win court approval; or because, when the standard could be met, it would be so only after the expenditure of scarce resources, the submission and review of a lengthy legal filing, and the passage of significant time — which, in the world of rapidly evolving threats, the government often does not have.”

Does that word salad sound reasonable to you? It doesn’t to ilovetux:

That is exactly how it’s supposed to work. … I would expect better … from the Director of the FBI.
…
If they don’t qualify for a warrant, then the warrant will not be issued. … It is the responsibility of the investigators to do the work and find probable cause.

Explain like I’m a geek? Press2ToContinue adds persona + need + purpose:

Ah, the classic move: sneaking in NSA spying powers like a rogue sysadmin inserting a backdoor into legacy code. Let’s just patch our privacy away, shall we? Maybe we can refactor the Constitution while we’re at it. It’s not like we’re using it much these days.
…
As long as they’re updating things, why not throw in a clause that all senators must use Comic Sans in all official documents? It’s about as subtle as this move.

Did somebody say “Prohibition”? JavaJester would paste a Simpsons meme:

Terrorists and Pedophiles and Violent Criminals (Oh My!) Cue the standard fearmongering that these powers are all that stand between us and a lawless hellscape. Just think of the children.
…
It is … for our own good, of course. And for the children.

How did this all go so horribly wrong? With the inside track, here’s yxwvut:

When I worked at a certain three-letter-agency, much of the annual legal training amounted to: “Here’s our incredibly tortuous interpretation of … the law. Don’t like it? There’s the door.”
…
There’s no dissent allowed from the party line of, “This is definitely kosher.” If you thought the agency was overreaching in its interpretation, you better keep that to yourself, because it was a near-heretical opinion that would be eyed with suspicion. And it’s not like … a lowly rank-and-file employee [is] ever going to sway things.
…
I left for exactly that reason. I imagine those who stayed took an “ends justify the means” stance that I couldn’t abide. The organizations themselves are insatiable—there’s no way that, left to their own devices, any three-letter-agency would ever say, “Oh, this is beyond our scope, we shouldn’t be allowed to access this.” … That, combined with rubber stamp “checks,” allowed this surveillance creep.

Meanwhile, NotEmmanuelGoldstein is not a figment of Minitrue’s imagination:

The US government has been giving war-time powers to their servants for over 20 years. Now, the war is officially ended, it would be nice if … US politicians acted like it. Alas, they’ve been doing the opposite for 20 years, and US politicians love to shout, “You’re a victim, I’ll save you.”
…
US politicians excel at en****ification of democracy.

And Finally:

What happens in F1 stays in F1

Content warnings: Metric units, splintered carbon-fiber, Lance Stroll.

Previously in And Finally

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