Posted 11/28/2023, 8:03:17 PM
Lawmakers Face Pressure Over Surveillance Program Extension in Defense Bill
- U.S. lawmakers facing pressure from civil rights groups not to extend controversial Section 702 surveillance program via NDAA military spending bill
- Section 702 allows warrantless surveillance of foreign targets, but "incidentally" collects data on Americans too
- Rumors that House Speaker plans to amend NDAA to extend Section 702 drawing backlash from Democratic and GOP lawmakers
- Groups like ACLU and FreedomWorks say they will "score" vote to extend 702 without reforms, hurting members' records
- Bipartisan House/Senate intelligence committees introduced bill to extend 702 while banning some FBI warrantless searches, but civil liberties groups say it doesn't go far enough