SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The bill would expand the FBI's authority to use the so-called National Security Letters (NSL) to obtain Electronic Communication Transaction Records (ECTR).
Photo: Adikos/flickr/cc)
Post-Orlando Senate Rejects Gun Control, Calls for More Spying Instead
Senate invokes Orlando shooting to justify expanding FBI's warrantless surveillance powers, just after rejecting four gun control measures
Jun 21, 2016
Reuters reports that the U.S. Senate is poised to vote on a bill that would expand the FBI's secret surveillance powers, including warrantless collection of browsing history.
Lawmakers will vote on the amendment, sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), no later than Wednesday.
If approved, the bill would expand the FBI's authority to use the so-called National Security Letters (NSL) to obtain Electronic Communication Transaction Records (ECTR) such as email time stamps, senders, and recipients, as well as browsing metadata such as history and location--all without a warrant.
Civil liberties groups have widely criticized the amendment, which McConnell attached to a criminal justice appropriations bill.
Digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) previously referred to the NSLs as "one of the most frightening and invasive" government surveillance powers that were expanded under the U.S. Patriot Act and noted that the FBI is guilty of "systemic abuse of this power."
NSL recipients are also subject to a gag order that prohibits them from ever revealing the letters' existence to anyone, from their coworkers to the public.
Fight for the Future launched a campaign calling on senators to vote it down, stating, "The information the FBI wants is too sensitive to remove oversight."
Opponents in the chamber agree. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), an outspoken critic of mass surveillance, said of a similar measure last month that it "takes a hatchet to important protections for Americans' liberty."
Republicans invoked the mass shooting in Orlando earlier this month as justification for the new amendment. McCain said in a statement, "In the wake of the tragic massacre in Orlando, it is important our law enforcement have the tools they need to conduct counterterrorism investigations."
However, as opponents noted, the amendment would have been unlikely to stop the attack. As national security expert Marcy Wheeler pointed out in a blog post on Tuesday, FBI director James Comey previously said that the agency had already obtained shooter Omar Mateen's ECTR. "So it is false to say this is a real response," she wrote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly made the move late Monday--the same day that the Senate rejected four gun control measures also introduced as a response to the shooting.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a bipartisan amendment limiting government surveillance powers by prohibiting warrantless collection of Americans' electronic communications and banning the government from forcing technology companies to install backdoors to encrypted devices.
One of that bill's sponsors, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), said the House amendment "doesn't take any tools away from those that want to investigate what happened in Orlando, none whatsoever."
"I think our citizens are fed up with being spied on by the government," Massie said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
big brothercivil libertieselectronic frontier foundationfbifight for the futurejohn mccainmass surveillancemitch mcconnellorlandopatriot actprivacytechnologythomas massieus house of representativesus senatemetadata
Reuters reports that the U.S. Senate is poised to vote on a bill that would expand the FBI's secret surveillance powers, including warrantless collection of browsing history.
Lawmakers will vote on the amendment, sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), no later than Wednesday.
If approved, the bill would expand the FBI's authority to use the so-called National Security Letters (NSL) to obtain Electronic Communication Transaction Records (ECTR) such as email time stamps, senders, and recipients, as well as browsing metadata such as history and location--all without a warrant.
Civil liberties groups have widely criticized the amendment, which McConnell attached to a criminal justice appropriations bill.
Digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) previously referred to the NSLs as "one of the most frightening and invasive" government surveillance powers that were expanded under the U.S. Patriot Act and noted that the FBI is guilty of "systemic abuse of this power."
NSL recipients are also subject to a gag order that prohibits them from ever revealing the letters' existence to anyone, from their coworkers to the public.
Fight for the Future launched a campaign calling on senators to vote it down, stating, "The information the FBI wants is too sensitive to remove oversight."
Opponents in the chamber agree. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), an outspoken critic of mass surveillance, said of a similar measure last month that it "takes a hatchet to important protections for Americans' liberty."
Republicans invoked the mass shooting in Orlando earlier this month as justification for the new amendment. McCain said in a statement, "In the wake of the tragic massacre in Orlando, it is important our law enforcement have the tools they need to conduct counterterrorism investigations."
However, as opponents noted, the amendment would have been unlikely to stop the attack. As national security expert Marcy Wheeler pointed out in a blog post on Tuesday, FBI director James Comey previously said that the agency had already obtained shooter Omar Mateen's ECTR. "So it is false to say this is a real response," she wrote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly made the move late Monday--the same day that the Senate rejected four gun control measures also introduced as a response to the shooting.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a bipartisan amendment limiting government surveillance powers by prohibiting warrantless collection of Americans' electronic communications and banning the government from forcing technology companies to install backdoors to encrypted devices.
One of that bill's sponsors, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), said the House amendment "doesn't take any tools away from those that want to investigate what happened in Orlando, none whatsoever."
"I think our citizens are fed up with being spied on by the government," Massie said.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
Reuters reports that the U.S. Senate is poised to vote on a bill that would expand the FBI's secret surveillance powers, including warrantless collection of browsing history.
Lawmakers will vote on the amendment, sponsored by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), no later than Wednesday.
If approved, the bill would expand the FBI's authority to use the so-called National Security Letters (NSL) to obtain Electronic Communication Transaction Records (ECTR) such as email time stamps, senders, and recipients, as well as browsing metadata such as history and location--all without a warrant.
Civil liberties groups have widely criticized the amendment, which McConnell attached to a criminal justice appropriations bill.
Digital rights organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) previously referred to the NSLs as "one of the most frightening and invasive" government surveillance powers that were expanded under the U.S. Patriot Act and noted that the FBI is guilty of "systemic abuse of this power."
NSL recipients are also subject to a gag order that prohibits them from ever revealing the letters' existence to anyone, from their coworkers to the public.
Fight for the Future launched a campaign calling on senators to vote it down, stating, "The information the FBI wants is too sensitive to remove oversight."
Opponents in the chamber agree. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), an outspoken critic of mass surveillance, said of a similar measure last month that it "takes a hatchet to important protections for Americans' liberty."
Republicans invoked the mass shooting in Orlando earlier this month as justification for the new amendment. McCain said in a statement, "In the wake of the tragic massacre in Orlando, it is important our law enforcement have the tools they need to conduct counterterrorism investigations."
However, as opponents noted, the amendment would have been unlikely to stop the attack. As national security expert Marcy Wheeler pointed out in a blog post on Tuesday, FBI director James Comey previously said that the agency had already obtained shooter Omar Mateen's ECTR. "So it is false to say this is a real response," she wrote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly made the move late Monday--the same day that the Senate rejected four gun control measures also introduced as a response to the shooting.
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a bipartisan amendment limiting government surveillance powers by prohibiting warrantless collection of Americans' electronic communications and banning the government from forcing technology companies to install backdoors to encrypted devices.
One of that bill's sponsors, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), said the House amendment "doesn't take any tools away from those that want to investigate what happened in Orlando, none whatsoever."
"I think our citizens are fed up with being spied on by the government," Massie said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.