CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY: “A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers unveiled legislation on Wednesday [10-4-17] that would overhaul aspects of the National Security Agency’s warrantless internet surveillance program in an effort to install additional privacy protections…
The legislation, written by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, is seen by civil liberties groups as the best chance in Congress to reform the law, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, before its expiration on Dec. 31.
Senior U.S. intelligence officials consider Section 702 to be among the most vital tools they have to thwart threats to national security and American allies.
It allows U.S. intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on and store vast amounts of digital communications from foreign suspects living outside the United States.
But the program, classified details of which were exposed in 2013 by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, also incidentally scoops up communications of Americans, including if they communicate with a foreign target living overseas. Those communications can then be subject to searches without a warrant by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
-Dustin Volz, “U.S. lawmakers want to restrict internet surveillance on Americans,” Reuters, Oct. 4, 2017 01:06pm