The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday on an amendment that would require government investigators to provide a probable reason when requesting data to surf the Internet in terrorism and counterintelligence investigations.
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The US Senate voted Amendment to the USA Patriot Act on Wednesday, this would create a stricter standard for government investigators to collect web searches and story searches from people across the states. The bipartisan amendment proposed by Senator Ron Wyden from Oregon, a Democrat, and Senator Steve Daines von Montana, a Republican, would have asked the Department of Justice to give a likely reason if it had asked for the Department of Justice’s approval Surveillance court for foreign secret services collect the data for counter-terrorism or counter-espionage investigations.
Later on Wednesday, the Senate voted one separate bipartisan change that would expand a program that examines some inquiries from the FISA court and advises judges on questions of privacy and civil liberties.
Before voting on browsing history, Daines told the Senate that the bill was necessary to prevent the government from intruding on the most sensitive information available to Internet users in the United States. “If you want to see an American’s search history, you’d better go to a judge and get a warrant,” he said.
The amendment required 60 votes and failed with a final balance of 59 votes in favor and 37 against. A separate amendment by Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell would explicitly allow web search and browsing data to be collected under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, stating that investigators need not provide a probable reason. In contrast, the change in Wyden-Daines would have given the government the ability to request the data under a separate part of the law, Title I, which requires a probable reason.
Voting took place more than a month after the expiry of three sections of the USA Patriot Act in March. Section 215 allows the government, with the consent of the FISA court, to collect data that is “relevant” to terrorism or counterintelligence investigations.
Data protection supervision strengthened
The Senate approved the amendment by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a Democrat, and Mike Lee of Arizona, a Republican, who approved the Amicus Curiae program, who engages external legal experts to review novel or important interpretations of the government law. The experts advise on questions of privacy or civil liberties, on technological issues and on other relevant legal issues that are raised in the present case.
Neema Singh Guliani, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel, welcomed the adoption of the amendment and said the update would bring the FISA court with the necessary control.
“After many years of only using stamp laws that were used to commit violations of civil liberties, Congress overwhelmingly passed amendments that help ensure that government claims to a secret intelligence agency don’t go unchecked,” she said, adding added that more needs to be done to achieve this. Ensure that government requests for data on people in the United States are adequately examined.
Another change contemplated by Republican Senator Rand Paul, Kentucky, would require arrest warrants for data collection in the United States and the use of the data collected by the Patriot Act as evidence in criminal matters or litigation outside the United States limit jurisdiction of the FISA court.
In addition to its amendment, which allows browsing and search logs to be collected for no probable reason, McConnell has made an amendment to limit the use of Patriot Act powers to screen candidates for a federal agency. The amendment comes when President Donald Trump and members of his government criticized FBI investigations into members of his campaign team using the powers of the Patriot Act.
McConnell did not speak to either the Wyden Daines amendment or the Leahy Lee amendment to the Senate, and his office did not respond to a request for comment on his proposed amendments.
Wyden had said his amendment was particularly important now that millions of Americans are at home to curb the spread the corona virusYou can rely on the internet to work, raise your children and access information.
“Stand up for the millions of people who need to be at home,” Wyden had said.