The surveillance powers enjoyed by some federal agencies like the FBI need to be reformed, members of Congress said on May 19 after a newly released ruling showed the FBI repeatedly violated the law and policy in surveilling Americans and others.
“Egregious FISA abuses by the FBI underscore the need for Congress to reform 702 to better protect the civil liberties of Americans,” Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) said in a statement.
“The abuse of FISA authority detailed in this opinion demands a response from all members of Congress,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) enables the FBI and some other agencies to conduct warrantless searches on foreign actors’ cell phone data and communications, among other points of information. Section 702, a provision approved by Congress in 2008, expanded the powers by enabling collection on