The Limits on Spy Law That Big Tech Wants

Major technology firms are pushing to limit how US intelligence agencies acquire and access text messages, emails, and other data on their customers, particularly American residents.

According to three individuals familiar with the discussion, the companies, which include Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Meta Platforms Inc., and Apple Inc., want Congress to limit Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act as they attempt to reauthorize the statute before it expires at the end of the year.

In reaction to several publications and internal audits that detail violations, there is a growing bipartisan agreement in Congress to not just extend the statute but to make modifications as well. According to two lobbyists who asked not to be identified but relayed internal conversations, this has given the tech sector reason for optimism that more comprehensive changes may pass Congress this time.

The legislation, which was approved by Congress in 2008 in reaction to revelations about the Bush administration's warrantless snooping on US people, gave broad powers that have been questioned throughout the years for many reasons. More privacy measures are deemed necessary by civil liberties organizations. Former President Donald Trump and his associates assert that intelligence services can collude against conservatives because of their access to spies.

"Reforms are required to ensure dragnet surveillance programs operate within constitutional limits and protect American users' rights, through appropriate transparency, oversight, and accountability," said Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, which includes Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon.com Inc.

According to intelligence agencies, Section 702 is a crucial instrument that has yielded critical information on nations such as China's espionage and hacking operations, as well as contributing to the successful drone attack that killed al-Qaeda commander Ayman al-Zawahiri last year.

Section 702 allows authorities to force corporations to give over communications, phone records, and other data for national security investigations that target non-US residents residing outside the country, even if American persons' communications are implicated. The material is stored in a database that analysts can access for approved foreign intelligence investigations.

President Joe Biden's administration's key legislators and national security officials have begun to discuss what adjustments could be possible.

Technology and social media companies have an economic incentive to seek restrictions on what the government can compel them to do because their relationships with US agencies have come under fire since whistleblower and former government contractor Edward Snowden revealed how vast the world's spying apparatus had grown under the Obama administration.

Tech firms and their lobbying groups want to be able to publicly reveal more information on the frequency with which the government asks them for information about their users and customers as well as the kind of data that they are being compelled to provide. Moreover, they want to limit how the government can use the data. For example, they want the FBI to need a warrant backed by probable cause before examining the Section 702 database for data on US individuals.

In recent congressional hearings, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that fewer agency analysts checked the Section 702 database for information on US citizens in 2022 compared to 2021.

Searches are declining.

According to an FBI official who requested anonymity because the new figures aren't yet public, the overall number of searches has decreased from around 3.4 million in 2021 to roughly 204,000 in 2022. According to the person, this was mostly due to measures implemented by the FBI since 2021, such as forcing analysts to "opt-in" to examine the Section 702 database. Formerly, even when analysts did not want to access the database, it was included in searches by default.

The companies want to cooperate primarily through the Reform Government Surveillance alliance, which was formed in 2014. Chad Tanner of the technology and cybersecurity-focused lobbying firm Monument Advocacy represents the coalition, which comprises the largest tech corporations. Tanner, a well-connected business supporter, joined Monument last year after working for the Senate Intelligence Committee for more than ten years.

In an ironic twist, the injection of conservative hostility may provide the momentum needed to impose new legislative limitations on espionage capabilities this year.

During a March 9 meeting of the House Intelligence Committee, Illinois Republican Congressman Darin LaHood stated, "I feel that a clean congressional reauthorization of 702 is a non-starter." Before we can create significant improvements to restore faith and confidence in the FISA process, you must first accept that there is a problem.

LaHood stated that he thinks FBI analysts who were searching through the material gathered under the authorization unlawfully searched his name several times.

The democratic congresswoman from Washington state Pramila Jayapal praised LaHood's remarks. She said that this was an excellent chance to update Americans' privacy rights under Section 702 of the law.

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