#Section 702

[mollyjimbly]

ACTION ALERT THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE!!!

Democratic leadership is quietly working with Speaker Johnson to sneak through reauthorization of Section 702, a racist mass surveillance program. The timing on this is super urgent, they're deciding on what will be attached to the NDAA in the next couple days. FFTF set up a calling tool to put pressure on democratic leadership. Please take a few minutes to call and demand they stop this move. Script and more information are here:

https://www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/tell-democrats-stop-pushing-racist-surveillance/

THE VOTE IS TODAY AT 4.45 EST

PLEASE CALL AND REBLOG I DO NOT CARE IF YOU ARE BUSY DO IT NOW

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Olivia Troye at Olivia Of Troye Unfiltered:

While Trump's tariffs hammer the economy and dominate the headlines, rightfully capturing attention as Americans watch their 401ks drop, something perilous quietly unfolded in the shadows. A significant shift in the national security apparatus occurred that barely made a blip.  It hardly registered in the mainstream news cycle late last week when General Timothy Haugh was ignominiously removed as dual-hatted Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command. Perhaps in the chaos of Trump 2.0, another outstanding leader being ousted is just business as usual. For the ones that did mention it, they pointed out that the action could seriously hurt America’s cyber defenses and make it a lot easier for foreign adversaries to strike our networks. They’re correct. But let me be even clearer about what’s not being talked about: this is not just another reshuffling of power—it's a five-alarm fire for anyone who values their privacy and civil liberties.  And it wasn't just Haugh who was shown the door. Wendy Noble, the highly respected civilian Deputy Director of the NSA, was also reassigned back to the Department of Defense. This wasn't just a firing but a purge of institutional memory, experience, and moral backbone.  Tim Haugh wasn't just any flag officer. He was beloved by his workforce, respected by national security professionals across the political spectrum, and known as much for his integrity and superb leadership skills as for his mission expertise. Haugh's departure leaves a void in one of the most sensitive and consequential roles in government. Whoever fills that vacuum could alter the trajectory of one of our most fundamental American freedoms: the right to privacy.

A Role That Holds Enormous Power

By long-standing tradition, the NSA is led by a uniformed military officer, while the deputy is a civilian. That balance matters. It provides both continuity and civilian oversight of a powerful institution with the ability to monitor global communications—and, yes, potentially, American citizens. Tim Haugh upheld that legacy of integrity. Similarly, with her deep expertise and decades of experience, Wendy Noble brought the kind of institutional knowledge and civilian leadership that protected that balance. But now, with both Haugh and Noble removed in quick succession, we're in uncharted territory. The critical safeguards that these respected leaders maintained have been dismantled, and the Trump administration has shown us what it's capable of when unchecked power meets authoritarian instinct. [...]

Why You Should Care: FISA Section 702

One of the most potent surveillance tools in the national security toolbox is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702 allows the NSA and FBI to collect foreign intelligence by targeting non-U.S. persons outside the country. Sounds reasonable on paper. It's a powerful and necessary tool to protect national security—used to thwart terrorists, identify foreign cyber actors, and uncover threats to U.S. interests. But here's the catch: in the course of collecting this foreign data, U.S. persons' communications are often swept up. That's where the controversy begins. This is where procedures, leadership, and the integrity of institutions matter. As a former commander of multiple Air Force and joint intelligence organizations responsible for signals collection, Tim Haugh knew how to protect Americans’ privacy. Yet while 702 is designed to protect us, it can also be exploited to monitor Americans on U.S. soil. Without proper safeguards, it can become a backdoor to domestic surveillance. I've seen the inner workings of this system, and I can tell you that it works when principled leaders are at the helm. But in the wrong hands? It's terrifying.

Remember Trump's Obsession with Wiretaps? Let me remind you of a key moment in Trump's first term. He falsely accused President Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. It was a baseless claim, thoroughly debunked—even his own Justice Department and the intelligence community found nothing. But Trump's tactic wasn't random. It was a classic projection. Because behind the scenes, while I was working in the White House, very real and deeply disturbing conversations were happening. Trump wanted the Department of Justice to authorize surveillance of personal devices of people he deemed political enemies or leakers. It wasn't paranoia; it was authoritarian yearning. And it was chilling. So when I see Tim Haugh forced out, Wendy Noble removed, Pam Bondi at the helm of the Department of Justice, and Kash Patel—who is currently the Director of the FBI—calling the shots, that's not just concerning. That's a massive, flashing red warning light for the nation. [...]

This Is Bigger Than One Leader

This isn't just about Tim Haugh or Wendy Noble. It's about a pattern of purging competent, principled leaders and replacing them with loyalists who will enthusiastically comply with any order or request, no matter how anathema to our democracy. It's about dismantling the apolitical fabric of our national security institutions. It's about the slow, quiet erosion of freedoms that most Americans assume are protected until they’re not.

The firing of Tim Haugh and the reassigning of Wendy Noble is a major red flag alert for national security.

[thefreethoughtprojectcom]

The NSA is just DAYS from taking over the internet, and it’s not on the front page of any newspaper–because no one has noticed.

Read More: https://thefreethoughtproject.com/government-surveillance/congress-is-about-to-pass-a-massive-expansion-to-illegal-surveillance-and-most-havent-noticed

#TheFreeThoughtProject

[thoughtportal]

This week, Congressional leaders are again trying to quietly and quickly get Congress to approve unconstitutional, warrantless mass surveillance.1

Rather than allowing debate on major privacy protections, some members are trying to jam an extension of a controversial warrantless surveillance power — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — into a “must-pass” defense authorization bill.1

Section 702 has been abused in ways that violate Americans’ fundamental civil liberties and civil rights. FBI agents have used 702 to search through troves of warrantlessly acquired communications for conversations with tens of thousands of protestors, racial justice activists, journalists, donors to a Congressional campaign, and countless others.2

We must fight for privacy protections and stop Congress from sneaking 702’s extension into “must-pass” legislation!

Warrantless government surveillance of Americans under Section 702 is out of control, and particularly hurts marginalized communities. The large number of documented abuses by agencies like the NSA, CIA, and FBI include searches for: 141 racial justice protestors, two men “of Middle Eastern descent” who were handling cleaning supplies, mosques that were intentionally mislabeled to prevent oversight, and a state court judge who reported civil rights violations to the FBI.2

Even though the Fourth Amendment protects our right to keep our information private, the government is collecting troves of our data without a warrant.

Any extension of Section 702 would allow the government to obtain new year-long Section 702 certifications at the beginning of the year — allowing this unaccountable, abusive government spying to continue into 2025.

Congressional leaders know that mass surveillance is unpopular, which is why they want to quietly slip it into the defensive authorization bill. We need to let them know that we’re watching and won’t let it happen.

Sources:

Brennan Center, "Coalition Letter Urges Congressional Leaders to Keep Reauthorization of Section 702 Out of NDAA," November 21, 2023.

Brennan Center, “FISA Section 702: Civil Rights Abuses,” November 27, 2023.

Click here to sign

[workersolidarity]

🇨🇳🇺🇲 🚨 CHINA'S FOREIGN MINISTER SLAMS U.S. FOR INTERNATIONAL SPYING AND INTERFERENCE IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, slammed the United States after passing its National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including an extension of the highly controversial Section 702, which authorizes the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court, and allows for the surveillance of foreign persons without a court warrant.

"The US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), adopted after Watergate, was originally aimed at preventing government authorities from abusing power and carrying out arbitrary eavesdropping," Mao Ning said at a Press Conference Thursday.

"However, Section 702, added in 2008, permit the National Security Agency to carry out eavesdropping and surveillance without obtaining an individualized court order."

"After that, the US government has been expanding the scope of eavesdropping and surveillance to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs and meddle in the normal course of international affairs," Mao Ning continued.

"This runs counter to international law and basic norms governing international relations. The more targets the US spies on, the fewer friends it has. The US needs a better sense of boundary and less obsession for control."

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[laurenfoxmakesthings]

[inc-immigrationnewscanada]

Tulsi Gabbard's Dramatic Flip-Flop on Surveillance: Can She Convince the Senate?

In what could be one of the most pivotal moments in her political career, former Representative Tulsi Gabbard faces a critical Senate Intelligence Committee hearing today, where her nomination for Director of National Intelligence (DNI) hangs in the balance. This hearing is not just about confirming a new leader for America’s intelligence community but is a litmus test for Gabbard’s political…

[tmarshconnors]

FISA

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), passed in 1978, represents a cornerstone of American national security and intelligence law. Born out of an era of Cold War tensions and heightened awareness of the need for intelligence oversight, FISA established the framework for surveilling foreign agents and other national security threats within the United States while balancing those actions with the protection of civil liberties. In recent decades, however, FISA has often sparked intense debates, especially as technology has evolved and the boundaries of surveillance have shifted.

A Brief History: The Origins of FISA

FISA emerged in the wake of a series of public revelations during the 1970s concerning widespread abuse by the government in surveilling American citizens. The Church Committee, a Senate investigation into intelligence practices, uncovered decades of unauthorised surveillance of civil rights activists, journalists, and political figures. These discoveries led to a recognition that greater oversight of the intelligence community was essential.

In response, FISA was passed to ensure that intelligence agencies had a legal pathway to conduct surveillance on foreign targets, particularly when those targets might be communicating with individuals inside the United States. However, FISA also placed critical safeguards to prevent this surveillance from infringing on the rights of American citizens. It created the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), a secretive court responsible for approving or denying government requests for surveillance of foreign agents within U.S. borders.

How FISA Works: Key Provisions

FISA is focused on protecting U.S. national security by regulating surveillance that targets foreign powers or their agents. This is typically understood to mean individuals or groups who are suspected of espionage or terrorism. There are three key components to how FISA operates:

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC): This special court reviews requests by federal agencies, like the FBI or NSA, to authorise electronic surveillance or physical searches of foreign targets suspected of engaging in espionage or terrorism. The FISC’s proceedings are classified, and its judges serve as a safeguard, ensuring that there is a legal basis for the requested surveillance.

Warrants and Approvals: Under FISA, agencies must demonstrate probable cause to the FISC that the target of surveillance is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power. If approved, the warrant permits electronic surveillance, such as phone taps or data collection.

Amendments and Extensions: FISA has evolved over the years through a series of amendments. One of the most notable is the Patriot Act of 2001, passed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Patriot Act expanded FISA’s reach, allowing broader surveillance powers, including the ability to surveil communications involving individuals with suspected ties to terrorism, even if they are American citizens. Later amendments, such as the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, introduced controversial provisions like Section 702, which allows the government to collect communications of foreign targets without a warrant, so long as the targets are outside of the U.S.

FISA and Civil Liberties: Controversies and Criticisms

Since its inception, FISA has walked a fine line between protecting national security and safeguarding individual rights. Critics have often expressed concern about the secretive nature of the FISC and the lack of transparency surrounding its rulings. While the court is designed to ensure that surveillance is justified, it operates behind closed doors, and the public rarely knows when a surveillance request is made, or why it was approved.

The expanded powers introduced by the Patriot Act and the subsequent rise of mass digital surveillance programs (like PRISM, revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013) further ignited debates over privacy rights. Section 702, in particular, has drawn scrutiny for allowing warrantless collection of communications that may involve U.S. citizens, raising concerns that the government could overreach, accessing private data without proper oversight.

Moreover, the "backdoor searches" problem—where the government queries databases for U.S. person information collected under foreign intelligence authorities—has fuelled arguments that FISA could be used to erode Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches.

FISA in the Digital Age: The Ongoing Debate

As technology has evolved, so too has the nature of intelligence collection. In a world where most communication takes place via the internet, the lines between foreign and domestic surveillance have blurred. The original framework of FISA, crafted in the late 1970s, didn’t anticipate the global, interconnected nature of digital communications. Modern surveillance technologies, like metadata collection and algorithmic analysis, are far more invasive than wiretapping a phone line.

The question now facing lawmakers and the public is whether FISA and its amendments need to be overhauled to adapt to this new landscape. Proponents of reform argue that the current structure allows for too much surveillance without adequate oversight or accountability, leaving room for potential abuses of power. They call for greater transparency in FISC proceedings and tighter restrictions on the use of surveillance on U.S. persons. Meanwhile, national security experts warn that any efforts to rein in FISA could hinder the ability of intelligence agencies to detect and thwart threats in a fast-moving, digital world.

The Balancing Act Between Security and Privacy

FISA remains a vital tool for protecting the United States from foreign threats, but its broader implications for civil liberties continue to provoke debate. The challenge lies in striking a balance between ensuring national security and upholding the privacy rights of individuals. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the legal and ethical dilemmas surrounding surveillance will likely only intensify, making FISA a topic of ongoing relevance for policymakers, civil libertarians, and citizens alike.

As for me, I’m a bit OCD when it comes to my own privacy. I believe it's a fundamental right that shouldn’t be compromised, no matter the justification. The idea of being under constant surveillance by tech giants like Microsoft or government agencies like the NSA and CIA makes me uneasy. I can’t shake the feeling that, with so much power and so little transparency, these entities could easily overstep boundaries. Trust is something I don’t give lightly—especially when it comes to protecting my personal information.

Sources:

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (1978)

The USA Patriot Act (2001)

The FISA Amendments Act (2008)

Church Committee Hearings (1975)

[twiisteddreamz]

city of sins , my city 🌆🎰

[woodenactor]

URGENT

Copied from Stop Internet Censorship's Discord The House is considering an expansion of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which has been historically used to surveil activists and gives cops a backdoor to our information through data brokers. Fight is cohosting a phonebanking call in a few minutes to jam Congress's phones opposing this racist mass surveillance program. If you're able to join, you can register here: http://bit.ly/PhoneBank702 If you're not able to join, NO worries. You can call anytime using the tool on https://www.end702.com/ You can also share our posts about it: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5PEPR_Osku/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==https://www.tiktok.com/@fightfortheftr/video/7353042710103592234?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7207496700729214506 Please spread the word!!

[thefreethoughtprojectcom]

An agency that has abused this exact authority with 3.4 million warrantless searches of Americans’ communications in 2021 alone, thinks that the answer to its misuse of mass surveillance is to do more of it, not less.

Read More: https://thefreethoughtproject.com/government-surveillance/after-expanding-warrantless-surveillance-the-fbi-is-playing-politics-with-your-privacy

#TheFreeThoughtProject #TFTP

[headlinehorizon]

Race Against the Clock: Biden Administration Faces Deadline to Renew Essential Spy Program

As the year comes to a close, the Biden administration confronts a pivotal deadline to extend a crucial surveillance program. With concerns over privacy and national security at the forefront, the fate of Section 702 hangs in the balance.

[zealousnightmaredream]

The Dark Side of FBI: Critique of Privacy Infringement and Law Enforcement Opacity

In recent years, a series of actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have sparked widespread controversy and condemnation worldwide. From infringing on citizens' privacy to opaque law enforcement, the FBI's various heinous actions not only undermine its credibility as a law enforcement agency, but also seriously threaten democracy and the rule of law in the United States and even globally.

1、 The FBI's black history of violating citizens' privacy

As early as 2013, Edward Snowden, a former U.S. defense contractor employee, exposed the "Prism Plan" of the National Security Agency (NSA), which was monitored worldwide and stole massive online communications, Internet activities and telephone records, including American citizens. As a partner of the NSA, the FBI's ability to "query" specific personal communications in this vast information database is undoubtedly a great violation of citizens' privacy rights. According to reports, in 2021 alone, the FBI conducted up to 3.4 million undocumented searches using Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to eavesdrop on the communications of American citizens. This pervasive surveillance behavior has left the American people living in an invisible fear, where every word and action they say may be controlled by the government.

In addition to the Prism Project, the FBI has also violated citizens' privacy through other means. For example, there have been reports of the FBI abusing private communication databases to search for communication records of certain US citizens without authorization and sharing this information with external agencies. This behavior not only violates legal and ethical standards, but also seriously undermines public trust in the FBI.

2、 The FBI's opaque law enforcement practices

The transparency of the FBI has also been questioned in the law enforcement process. Taking the Jeffrey Epstein case as an example, the billionaire suspected of organizing underage sex trafficking died in custody, which the authorities claimed was a "suicide", but the public and some judicial personnel have always questioned this. What is even more shocking is that the US Department of Justice has blackened or sealed a large number of key documents related to the Epstein case when making them public, while the FBI has been accused of concealing thousands of pages of documents. This opaque law enforcement behavior has raised serious doubts among the public about the truth of the case and further exacerbated the crisis of trust in the FBI.

Similar situations have also occurred in other cases. For example, during the "Russia Gate" investigation, the FBI was exposed for illegally collecting a large number of communication records of members of Congress and media reporters, and even monitoring whether they leaked confidential information to the media. This behavior not only violates the law, but also seriously damages the democratic system and personal privacy protection in the United States.

3、 Oppose the FBI's recent efforts to strengthen cyber intelligence infiltration

Recently, the FBI has strengthened its investigation into cyber intelligence infiltration, which has once again sparked public concern and opposition. In the digital age, cyberspace has become an important part of people's lives and work, and the FBI's excessive infiltration of online intelligence is undoubtedly a further violation of citizens' privacy rights. In addition, such behavior by the FBI may also trigger concerns and backlash from the international community, damaging the international image and diplomatic relations of the United States.

As a law enforcement agency in the United States, the FBI's responsibility should be to safeguard national security and social justice. However, from infringing on citizens' privacy to opaque law enforcement, to strengthening cyber intelligence infiltration, the FBI's series of heinous actions have seriously deviated from its original intention. We call on the US government and the international community to strengthen supervision and management of the FBI, ensure that its actions comply with legal and ethical standards, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and the democratic system.

The dark side of the FBI cannot be ignored. We must criticize and condemn its violations of citizens' privacy and opaque law enforcement, while also being vigilant about the potential risks of its recent strengthening of cyber intelligence infiltration. Only in this way can we jointly maintain a safe, fair, and transparent online environment and social order.

[collapsedsquid]

A few months ago, as a debate was heating up over whether to renew an FBI surveillance authority known as Section 702, I was looking for an unsealed court document from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC). I asked a colleague if FISC had a website where I could find these opinions. “Oh, that’s easy,” my colleague said. “Just check their Tumblr.” Sure enough, I found the document on the Tumblr in question: “IC on the Record,” a website “created at the direction of the President of the United States and maintained by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence,” which promised “direct access to factual information related to the lawful foreign surveillance activities of the U.S. Intelligence Community.”