38 Civil Liberties and Public Interest Organizations Call on Congress to Pass Real NSA Reform

A bipartisan coalition of 38 civil liberties and public interest organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, sent a letter to Congress yesterday that draws a line in the sand on NSA reform. The coalition made it clear that it cannot support the watered-down version of the USA FREEDOM Act passed in the House of Representatives without significant changes to the legislation, and outlined clear steps that Congress can take to address problems with the bill.

USA FREEDOM as it was originally introduced was a genuine step towards addressing out-of-control NSA spying. We had all along called it a floor, not a ceiling, for NSA reform. That’s why we weren’t happy to see it weakened considerably in rushed, closed-door proceedings. And the coalition agrees—the weakened House version contains fatal flaws:

Unless the version of the USA FREEDOM Act that the Senate considers contains substantial improvements over the House-passed version, we will be forced to oppose the bill that so many of us previously worked to advance.

Fortunately for Congress, the coalition letter explicitly listed the points the Senate must consider when it takes up USA FREEDOM. 

First and foremost, whatever bill Congress passes must actually end bulk telephone records collection. The watered-down House version of USA FREEDOM may not actually accomplish that because of the overbroad and unclear wording in the bill. On this point the letter is clear (emphasis in original):

The primary stated purpose of the USA FREEDOM Act is to end bulk collection. If we are not confident that it will accomplish that goal, we will oppose it.

The coalition also addressed transparency issues, calling on the Senate to strengthen the reporting provisions of the bill, both for what the government must disclose and what companies can disclose. Additionally, as the coalition’s letter makes clear, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court must also be more transparent. The letter called on the Senate to reinsert the original USA FREEDOM provision that created a privacy advocate in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) with the power to seek review by higher courts, rather than simply allowing the FISC to appoint "friends of the court" (something it already does). The letter also stated that the Senate should ensure that disclosures of FISC opinions “include certain baseline information that is necessary for conducting effective oversight…”

The NSA has (we believe incorrectly) interpreted Section 702 of the FISA Amendment Act to mean that it can collect communications that are “about” a target, even if the target is not a party to the communication. Unfortunately, the wording of the House's USA FREEDOM Act could be seen as codifying these about searches—something we’re particularly concerned about. The letter points out that the current wording of the House USA FREEDOM “requires the minimization of information ‘that is not to, from, or about the target of an acquisition,’” and that this language should be removed.  

Finally, the letter calls for “strong minimization requirements for the FISA pen register and trap & trace surveillance authority” and “strict limits on the new call detail records (CDR) authority.”

USA FREEDOM has already had a hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. However, it must go through the Judiciary Committee before it can move to the full Senate floor for a vote. While it is unclear how soon that will happen, Senator Leahy, the bill’s sponsor, stated in May: "I was disappointed that the legislation passed [in the House] does not include some of the meaningful reforms contained in the original USA FREEDOM Act. I will continue to push for these important reforms when the Senate Judiciary Committee considers the USA FREEDOM Act next month.”   

That means there’s still time. Read the letter in full below and help defeat fake NSA reform by contacting your members of Congress today.

Full text of the open letter:

Dear Majority Leader Reid, Republican Leader McConnell, Chairmen Leahy and Feinstein, and Ranking Members Grassley and Chambliss:

The undersigned civil liberties, human rights, and other public interest organizations