Don't let Congress renew Section 702

From Fight For The Future:

Members of Congress are finally talking about ending the biggest mass surveillance law in the U.S. because—get this—they’re afraid that it could lead to compromising information about themselves being leaked.[1]

It’s ridiculous that that’s what it takes for them to care about upholding the Constitution, but this is a huge opportunity for us to beat back mass surveillance. As they go into negotiations this week and next, they need to hear from you.

Take action to stop Congress from renewing Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, one of the biggest mass surveillance law in the U.S.

Section 702 is at the core of the corrupt mass surveillance apparatus in the US. When it was passed, the government claimed it was for collecting information about terrorism suspects. Instead, it has been used to collect hundreds of millions of emails, phone calls, and text messages sent and received by ordinary people who aren’t suspected of anything.[2,3] Source Source

This is the law that lets the government collect your communications from companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple, and intercept private information straight from the cables and switches that make up the backbone of the Internet, without a warrant.[4]

The programs conducted under Section 702 are so broad that the NSA says they can't even count how many people are having their communications swept up. They’re so broad that even members of Congress feel violated by them.

It’s perfect timing for members of Congress to be thinking about their personal risks under mass surveillance because Section 702 is scheduled to sunset at the end of the year and congressional committees are working out a strategy to renew it as we speak.[5]

Both Democrats and Republicans have been raising concerns about having their information leaked, so there is real, bipartisan momentum building against 702. If we make our voices heard now, that could put them over the edge and solidify the sentiment that 702 has to go.

The New York Times recently reported that the committees deciding what to do about the expiration of Section 702 are close to a deal that would reauthorize it without fixing some of its biggest problems.[6] Congress needs to hear from us now, or we will miss this opportunity to score a victory that limits mass surveillance in a major way.

Private contractors like Booz Allen, Lockheed Martin, and Leidos have been getting rich from mass surveillance, and they are lobbying hard to make sure Section 702 is renewed. With these special interests involved, ending surveillance under Section 702 won’t be easy, even with members of Congress afraid of getting caught up in it.

This whole system of mass surveillance has been built and supported by corruption, and the only way to break the cycle of corruption is for regular people to speak out loudly. The intelligence contractors may have money and insider connections, but they don’t have the most important thing that politicians need—popular public support.

With Congress thinking about their own privacy under mass surveillance, this is the perfect moment for us to speak out and break the cycle of corruption.

Sign our petition to send Congress a message: Mass surveillance makes intelligence contractors rich without making us safer. It’s time to end this corruption.