The U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have sought the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act for another year without any changes from the FISA Court amid the imminent expiration of the surveillance powers next month, according to The Register.
While such a move was regarded to be "business as usual" by National Security Council Legal Advisor Josh Geltzer, the effort has been criticized by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who along with other lawmakers have pushed for reforms to the law that would prohibit warrantless surveillance.
"It is utterly ridiculous that the Biden Administration and the Justice Department would rather risk the long-term future of an important surveillance authority than support a single meaningful reform to protect Americans' rights," said Wyden.
Similar sentiments have been shared by American Civil Liberties Union Senior Policy Counsel Kia Hamadanchy and Electronic Frontier Foundation Legal Fellow Brendan Gilligan. "Congress must significantly reform the law, or it must sunset — those are the only two options to protect Americans' rights," Gilligan said.
