The Senate voted early Saturday to reauthorize a key U.S. surveillance law known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The legislation, approved with bipartisan support, extends the program for two years and now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature. The reauthorization faced challenges due to debates over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans’ data, but ultimately passed in the nick of time before its midnight deadline. The surveillance tool, first authorized in 2008, is crucial in disrupting terror attacks, foreign espionage, and has also been used in specific operations such as the killing of al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri in 2022.
The renewal of the program allows the U.S. government to collect communications of non-Americans located outside the country without a warrant, under the guise of gathering foreign intelligence. The program has been lauded by officials for its role in preventing national security threats and providing crucial intelligence for various operations. Prior to the reauthorization, concerns were raised about the implications of letting the program lapse, as certain communication providers had threatened to stop their cooperation with the government if the law expired. The Biden administration had expected the program to remain operational for at least another year based on a recent opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, but emphasized the importance of congressional authorization.
Progressive and conservative lawmakers had pushed for further changes to the bill, particularly around restricting the FBI’s access to information about Americans through the surveillance program. While the program primarily targets non-Americans, it also collects communications of Americans when they are in contact with the targeted foreigners. Calls were made to require officials to obtain a warrant before accessing American communications, citing constitutional principles. However, amendments advocating for such changes failed to garner enough support on the floor for inclusion in the final passage, with concerns about hindering national security responses to imminent threats.
Despite the pushback from lawmakers on amendments, the reauthorization of Section 702 was praised by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who emphasized the importance of the tool in collecting foreign intelligence information while maintaining protections for Americans’ privacy and civil liberties. The House and Senate Intelligence Committees, along with the Justice Department, warned against requiring a warrant, highlighting the potential risks of hampering officials’ ability to respond quickly to national security threats. The legislation reauthorizing the surveillance program ultimately passed, with efforts to balance national security and privacy concerns remaining at the forefront of the debate among lawmakers.
