S.T.O.P. Condemns Extension Of Section 702 Surveillance

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For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Extension Of Section 702 Surveillance (New York, NY 4/22/24) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, condemns the passing of a two-year extension on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), signed into law by President Biden on Saturday. Section 702 grants sweeping surveillance powers that the FBI illegally abuses to track U.S. citizens. From 2016 to 2020, the agency improperly conducted 278,000 searches in instances where there was "no reasonable basis to expect they would return foreign intelligence or evidence of crime.” Lawmakers proposed six amendments to the bill that would address the program’s enabling of civil liberty violations, but none received enough votes on the Senate floor to be included in its passing. SEE: AP - Biden signs bill extending a key US surveillance program after divisions nearly forced it to lapse https://apnews.com/article/fisa-donald-trump-surveillance-congress-johnson-81e991c9f82e77b2fe13f8a3e0e25349 Reuters - FBI misused intelligence database in 278,000 searches, court says https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-misused-intelligence-database-278000-searches-court-says-2023-05-19/ “How many times do intelligence agencies need to break the law before Congress holds them accountable? This hasn’t happened dozens of times, or hundreds, but more than 278,000 times from just the FBI alone," said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. "This sort of wholesale lawlessness undermines our democracy at a time when it faces historic threats. Our spy agencies have proven that they deserve ever greater scrutiny, but they just get a blank check.”  In November, S.T.O.P. joined fellow civil rights and privacy groups in submitting a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries demanding they remove Section 702 reauthorization from the National Defense Reauthorization Act (NDAA) of 2024. The civil rights groups condemned the FBI’s systematic abuse of Section 702 databases to target American citizens and U.S. persons, including Black Lives Matter protesters. SEE: Press Release - Civil Rights Groups Demand Congress Remove Section 702 From Defense Authorization Bill https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/11/30/civil-rights-groups-demand-congress-remove-section-702-from-defense-authorization-bill-1 The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. --END-- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved.