Infosec in brief The US Congress nearly killed a reauthorization of FISA Section 702 last week over concerns that it would continue to allow warrantless surveillance of Americans, but an amendment to require a warrant failed.
Coats outline 'section 702' the Surveillance Act
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has long been controversial for its provisions that indirectly allow surveillance of US citizens without a warrant. That's why a group of Republican holdouts joined House Democrats this week to block a floor vote on the bill to reauthorize the measure.
The problem was that FISA Section 702 only technically allows the United States to spy on aliens abroad who are considered a threat, but if those aliens communicate with American citizens, those citizens' electronic communications can also be used for intelligence gathering.
The rebel Republicans, along with the Democrats, called for an amendment to the reauthorization bill to require warrants to be issued before information belonging to the United States could be collected. After an amendment was proposed Friday morning, the holds fell in line — sending the Section 702 renewal bill to the House floor for a full vote.
