Tell Congress to let FISA Section 702 expire.

[usonian]

https://indivisible.actionkit.com/mailings/view/125202


Next week, a little-known law that allows the government to sidestep the Constitution and spy on US citizens is set to expire.

Congress should let it die -- but we fear some Democrats could join most Republicans in reauthorizing this civil liberties disaster at a time the regime is greedily gobbling up mass surveillance data to punish its enemies and round up immigrants. And we know Stephen Miller is eager to use the creepiest of AI tools to massively expand the government’s ability to spy on us.

The details get a bit wonky, but they really matter: Section 702 of the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was designed, in 2008, to facilitate warrantless electronic surveillance of non-US citizens in other countries; in the meantime, though, courts have ruled that information gleaned “incidentally” about citizens' communications can also be searched, no warrant necessary. Despite being a clear civil liberties disaster, Congress has routinely reauthorized Section 702 with bipartisan support.

In practice, this has meant that what was intended as a foreign intelligence tool and counterterrorism measure has been aggressively repurposed into a program for spying on American citizens -- and a loophole lets the government get access to data which, even under FISA, requires a warrant. All they have to do is pay for it.

Tell your Members of Congress to vote NO on any legislation that reauthorizes Section 702 without significant reforms to protect us from the authoritarian Trump regime.

In the 18 years since the law was passed, the gathering and sale of private information by data brokers has exploded. If reauthorized as-is, Section 702 will not only let the regime continue buying data to target political opponents and immigrant communities, as well as potentially monitoring pregnancies -- it'll be turbo-charged by Miller and AI broligarchs to give the regime surveillance capabilities unprecedented in our history. The potential repercussions for our Constitutional freedoms are nightmarish.

Two years ago, this legislation sailed through Congress; now the regime is hoping the wonky details will help them slip mass, AI-driven surveillance through with a backroom deal. We can't let that happen.

Let your Members of Congress know that they have a choice to make: Will they greenlight warrantless mass surveillance of American citizens, or uphold the Constitution and reject Trump's authoritarian power grabs?

FISA's Section 702 threatens our foundational liberties. Congress needs to let it die.

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team