Tomorrow, Congress will vote on whether to hand the National Security Agency an egregious extension to its spying capabilities, allowing government agents to continue collecting, reading, and even sharing your emails amongst one another—all without needing a warrant.
You have a chance to stop that and to protect your Fourth Amendment right to privacy. Please call your representatives today and tell them that the newest bill to extend NSA spying—which we oppose—must be amended to include the USA Rights Act—which we support.
The issue at play is Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, the powerful surveillance authority that results in the NSA's collection of countless Americans' emails, chat logs, and browsing history.
Because of a loophole in Section 702, government agents can read through those collected communications—even when they belong to U.S. persons—without first obtaining a warrant. These are called "backdoor" searches because they skirt the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement.
The House is about to vote on a proposal to extend Section 702—bill S. 139—without any meaningful fixes to the backdoor search loophole.
But we have one shot left to stop them. The House of Representatives will also be voting on an amendment that would gut the text of S. 139, and replace it with another bill—the USA Rights Act, which EFF is proud to support.
The USA Rights Act amendment would:
• Close the backdoor search loophole, requiring warrants when accessing American communications.
• Codify the end of “about” collection, an invasive type of surveillance that was heavily criticized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for privacy violations.
• Sunset in four years, giving Congress another chance to revisit and debate NSA surveillance.
S. 139 is disastrous for privacy. We must stop it. This amendment is our best hope. Please, tell your representatives today that they must reject S. 139 unless they pass the USA Rights Act amendment.
Thank you for your support,
David Ruiz
EFF Activism Writer
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