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Started By
Message
FISA is expanding.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:13 pm
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:13 pm
@LizaGoitein on X recently put out two tweet streams about FISA. She is solid on this topic.
The most recent is 25 tweets, posted earlier today and the other is 14 tweets, posted when the House voted to renew FISA.
FISA is expanding. We have been betrayed. She lays it out in these tweets. Remember this when you once again wish to make excuses, or when Trump makes excuses, for Speaker Johnson, who has done a complete 180 on constitutional issues since becoming Speaker.
Example: An amendment passed that will force businesses to let the NSA into their wifi networks, so when you use the wifi at Best Buy or something, the NSA will have all of that, and everything it allows them to tunnel into.
And as I've said many times, don't look for the judiciary to help us. The FISA Court already gave the govt permission to keep doing FISA for an entire year even if the renewal expires this April.
Discussing problems in the FISA Renewal just passed by the House, which now goes to the Senate. Everything below, except the underlined part, is hers.
URGENT: Please read thread below. We have just days to convince the Senate NOT to pass a “terrifying” law (@RonWyden) that will force U.S. businesses to serve as NSA spies. CALL YOUR SENATOR NOW using this call tool (click below or call 202-899-8938). 1/25
Buried in the Section 702 reauthorization bill (RISAA) passed by the House on Friday is the biggest expansion of domestic surveillance since the Patriot Act. Senator Wyden calls this power “terrifying,” and he’s right. 2/25
I’ll explain how this new power works. Under current law, the government can compel “electronic communications service providers” that have direct access to communications to assist the NSA in conducting Section 702 surveillance. 3/25
In practice, that means companies like Verizon and Google must turn over the communications of the targets of Section 702 surveillance. (The targets must be foreigners overseas, although the communications can—and do—include communications with Americans.) 4/25
Through a seemingly innocuous change to the definition of “electronic communications surveillance provider,” an amendment offered by House intel committee (HPSCI) leaders and passed by the House vastly expands the universe of entities that can be compelled to assist the NSA. 5/25
If the bill becomes law, any company or individual that provides ANY service whatsoever may be forced to assist in NSA surveillance, as long as they have access to equipment on which communications are transmitted or stored—such as routers, servers, cell towers, etc. 6/25
That sweeps in an enormous range of U.S. businesses that provide wifi to their customers and therefore have access to equipment on which communications transit. Barber shops, laundromats, fitness centers, hardware stores, dentist’s offices… the list goes on and on. 7/25
It also includes commercial landlords that rent out the office space where tens of millions of Americans go to work every day—offices of journalists, lawyers, nonprofits, financial advisors, health care providers, and more. 8/25
When the amendment was first unveiled, one of the FISA Court amici took the highly unusual step of sounding a public alarm. Civil liberties advocates noted that the provision would encompass hotels, libraries, and coffee shops. 9/25
The version HPSCI leaders offered Friday therefore exempts… hotels, library shops, and coffee shops, plus a handful of other establishments. But as the FISA Court amicus promptly pointed out, the vast majority of U.S. businesses remain fair game. 10/25
The amendment even extends to service providers who come into our homes. House cleaners, plumbers, people performing repairs, and IT services providers have access to laptops and routers inside our homes and could be forced to serve as surrogate spies. 11/25
None of these people or businesses would be allowed to tell anyone about the assistance they were compelled to provide. They would be under a gag order, and they would face heavy penalties if they failed to comply with it. 12/25
That’s not even the worst part. Unlike Google and Verizon, most of these businesses and individuals lack the ability to isolate and turn over a target’s communications. So they would be required to give the NSA access to the equipment itself… 13/25
…or to use techniques or devices (presumably provided by the NSA) to copy and turn over entire communications streams and/or repositories of stored communications, which would inevitably include vast quantities of wholly domestic communications. 14/25
The NSA, having wholesale access to domestic communications on an unprecedented scale, would then be on the “honor system” to pull out and retain only the communications of approved foreign targets. (Let that sink in.) 15/25
HPSCI leaders deny that the administration has any intent to use this provision so broadly. Supposedly, there is a single type of service provider that the government wants to rope in. But they didn’t want anyone to know what that service provider was… 16/25
…so they hid the real goal by writing the amendment as broadly and vaguely as possible. But no worries, Americans! The administration isn’t actually going to USE all the power it just persuaded the House to give it. 17/25
I cannot overstate how mindblowingly irresponsible that is. I don’t think *any* administration should be trusted with an Orwellian power like this one. But even if *this* administration doesn’t plan to make full use of it… (Go ahead and fill in the blank.) 18/25
There are certain powers a government should not have in a democracy. The ability to force ordinary businesses and individuals to serve as surrogate spies is one of them. Even if the targets are supposed to be foreigners, a power this sweeping WILL be abused. 19/25
By the way, when a privacy advocate tried to get
@jahimes
to engage on this issue, here is the thoughtful and conscientious reply given by the ranking member of HPSCI, a man who clearly cares deeply about civil liberties. 20/25
(Jim Himes
@jahimes
You do that. But life is really too short to engage with people who need to use bombastic absurdities like “Stasi-like”. Yes I know exactly what is in there. Some of it is classified. And none of it is remotely “Stasi-like”. Sell your nonsense elsewhere.)
The Senate MUST stop this train before it is too late. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the House-passed bill this week. If there’s an opportunity to remove this provision, senators should remove it. If not, they should vote against the bill. 21/25
The White House will tell senators they have no choice other than to pass the House bill, because Section 702 expires on April 19, and trying to fix the House bill—or pass different legislation—would take too long. But the April 19 deadline exists only on paper. 22/25
The administration has already obtained FISA Court approval to continue Section 702 surveillance until April 2025. According to the administration itself, that approval “grandfathers” surveillance for a full year, even if Section 702 expires. 23/25
A notional deadline is no reason to create a surveillance state. The Senate must take the time to get this right. It’s not just our civil liberties that are at stake—it’s our democracy.
@SenatorBennet
@SenatorBooker
@SenSherrodBrown
@SenLaphonza
@SenatorCantwell
… 24/25
...
@SenatorCardin
@SenCoonsOffice
@SenFettermanPA
@SenatorHick
@SenatorLujan
@ChrisMurphyCT
@PattyMurray
@SenOssoff
@SenAlexPadilla
@SenJackyRosen
@SenBrianSchatz
@SenTinaSmith
@SenStabenow
@SenatorWarnock
@SenPeterWelch
25/25
Next part to follow
The most recent is 25 tweets, posted earlier today and the other is 14 tweets, posted when the House voted to renew FISA.
FISA is expanding. We have been betrayed. She lays it out in these tweets. Remember this when you once again wish to make excuses, or when Trump makes excuses, for Speaker Johnson, who has done a complete 180 on constitutional issues since becoming Speaker.
Example: An amendment passed that will force businesses to let the NSA into their wifi networks, so when you use the wifi at Best Buy or something, the NSA will have all of that, and everything it allows them to tunnel into.
And as I've said many times, don't look for the judiciary to help us. The FISA Court already gave the govt permission to keep doing FISA for an entire year even if the renewal expires this April.
Discussing problems in the FISA Renewal just passed by the House, which now goes to the Senate. Everything below, except the underlined part, is hers.
URGENT: Please read thread below. We have just days to convince the Senate NOT to pass a “terrifying” law (@RonWyden) that will force U.S. businesses to serve as NSA spies. CALL YOUR SENATOR NOW using this call tool (click below or call 202-899-8938). 1/25
Buried in the Section 702 reauthorization bill (RISAA) passed by the House on Friday is the biggest expansion of domestic surveillance since the Patriot Act. Senator Wyden calls this power “terrifying,” and he’s right. 2/25
I’ll explain how this new power works. Under current law, the government can compel “electronic communications service providers” that have direct access to communications to assist the NSA in conducting Section 702 surveillance. 3/25
In practice, that means companies like Verizon and Google must turn over the communications of the targets of Section 702 surveillance. (The targets must be foreigners overseas, although the communications can—and do—include communications with Americans.) 4/25
Through a seemingly innocuous change to the definition of “electronic communications surveillance provider,” an amendment offered by House intel committee (HPSCI) leaders and passed by the House vastly expands the universe of entities that can be compelled to assist the NSA. 5/25
If the bill becomes law, any company or individual that provides ANY service whatsoever may be forced to assist in NSA surveillance, as long as they have access to equipment on which communications are transmitted or stored—such as routers, servers, cell towers, etc. 6/25
That sweeps in an enormous range of U.S. businesses that provide wifi to their customers and therefore have access to equipment on which communications transit. Barber shops, laundromats, fitness centers, hardware stores, dentist’s offices… the list goes on and on. 7/25
It also includes commercial landlords that rent out the office space where tens of millions of Americans go to work every day—offices of journalists, lawyers, nonprofits, financial advisors, health care providers, and more. 8/25
When the amendment was first unveiled, one of the FISA Court amici took the highly unusual step of sounding a public alarm. Civil liberties advocates noted that the provision would encompass hotels, libraries, and coffee shops. 9/25
The version HPSCI leaders offered Friday therefore exempts… hotels, library shops, and coffee shops, plus a handful of other establishments. But as the FISA Court amicus promptly pointed out, the vast majority of U.S. businesses remain fair game. 10/25
The amendment even extends to service providers who come into our homes. House cleaners, plumbers, people performing repairs, and IT services providers have access to laptops and routers inside our homes and could be forced to serve as surrogate spies. 11/25
None of these people or businesses would be allowed to tell anyone about the assistance they were compelled to provide. They would be under a gag order, and they would face heavy penalties if they failed to comply with it. 12/25
That’s not even the worst part. Unlike Google and Verizon, most of these businesses and individuals lack the ability to isolate and turn over a target’s communications. So they would be required to give the NSA access to the equipment itself… 13/25
…or to use techniques or devices (presumably provided by the NSA) to copy and turn over entire communications streams and/or repositories of stored communications, which would inevitably include vast quantities of wholly domestic communications. 14/25
The NSA, having wholesale access to domestic communications on an unprecedented scale, would then be on the “honor system” to pull out and retain only the communications of approved foreign targets. (Let that sink in.) 15/25
HPSCI leaders deny that the administration has any intent to use this provision so broadly. Supposedly, there is a single type of service provider that the government wants to rope in. But they didn’t want anyone to know what that service provider was… 16/25
…so they hid the real goal by writing the amendment as broadly and vaguely as possible. But no worries, Americans! The administration isn’t actually going to USE all the power it just persuaded the House to give it. 17/25
I cannot overstate how mindblowingly irresponsible that is. I don’t think *any* administration should be trusted with an Orwellian power like this one. But even if *this* administration doesn’t plan to make full use of it… (Go ahead and fill in the blank.) 18/25
There are certain powers a government should not have in a democracy. The ability to force ordinary businesses and individuals to serve as surrogate spies is one of them. Even if the targets are supposed to be foreigners, a power this sweeping WILL be abused. 19/25
By the way, when a privacy advocate tried to get
@jahimes
to engage on this issue, here is the thoughtful and conscientious reply given by the ranking member of HPSCI, a man who clearly cares deeply about civil liberties. 20/25
(Jim Himes
@jahimes
You do that. But life is really too short to engage with people who need to use bombastic absurdities like “Stasi-like”. Yes I know exactly what is in there. Some of it is classified. And none of it is remotely “Stasi-like”. Sell your nonsense elsewhere.)
The Senate MUST stop this train before it is too late. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the House-passed bill this week. If there’s an opportunity to remove this provision, senators should remove it. If not, they should vote against the bill. 21/25
The White House will tell senators they have no choice other than to pass the House bill, because Section 702 expires on April 19, and trying to fix the House bill—or pass different legislation—would take too long. But the April 19 deadline exists only on paper. 22/25
The administration has already obtained FISA Court approval to continue Section 702 surveillance until April 2025. According to the administration itself, that approval “grandfathers” surveillance for a full year, even if Section 702 expires. 23/25
A notional deadline is no reason to create a surveillance state. The Senate must take the time to get this right. It’s not just our civil liberties that are at stake—it’s our democracy.
@SenatorBennet
@SenatorBooker
@SenSherrodBrown
@SenLaphonza
@SenatorCantwell
… 24/25
...
@SenatorCardin
@SenCoonsOffice
@SenFettermanPA
@SenatorHick
@SenatorLujan
@ChrisMurphyCT
@PattyMurray
@SenOssoff
@SenAlexPadilla
@SenJackyRosen
@SenBrianSchatz
@SenTinaSmith
@SenStabenow
@SenatorWarnock
@SenPeterWelch
25/25
Next part to follow
9
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:13 pm to POTUS2024
Discussing passage of FiSA renewal a few days ago.
I’m sad—and frankly baffled—to report that the House voted today to reward the government’s widespread abuses of Section 702 by massively expanding the government’s powers to conduct warrantless surveillance. 1/14
The amendment to require the gov’t to obtain a warrant to search Section 702 data for Americans’ communications failed by an achingly close vote of 212-212, following some truly shameless misrepresentations about the amendment from
@MikeTurnerOH
, the White House, & others. 2/14
Opponents branded the notion that the government should need a warrant to read Americans’ communications—the core of the Fourth Amendment and the guiding principle for searching Americans’ private correspondence for more than 200 years—as “extreme.” 3/14
Members whom I previously considered to be civil liberties champions (they know who they are) inexplicably abandoned the principles they have espoused in the past and voted to leave Americans vulnerable to continuing surveillance abuses. 4/14
Check out this list of how members voted. If your representative voted the wrong way, don’t be quiet about it. Look up their office phone number (it’s easy), give them a call, and let them know how you feel about their disregard of your rights. 5/14 LINK
That’s bad enough. But the House also voted for the amendment many of us have been calling “Patriot Act 2.0.” This will force ordinary American businesses that provide wifi to their customers to give the NSA access to their wifi equipment to conduct 702 surveillance. 6/14
I’m not kidding. The bill actually does that. If you have any doubts, read this post by a FISA Court amicus, who took the unusual step of going public to voice his concerns. Too bad members of the House didn’t listen. 7/14
Next time you pull out your phone and start sending messages in a laundromat… or a barber shop… or in the office building where you work… just know that the NSA might very well have access to those communications. 8/14
And that’s not all. The House also passed an amendment authorizing completely suspcionless searches for the communications of non-U.S. persons seeking permission to travel to the U.S., even if the multiple vetting mechanisms already in place reveal no cause for concern. 9/14
In addition to people seeking to work, study, or travel in the U.S., this could affect large numbers of visa holders who are longtime U.S. residents but still need permission to re-enter the U.S. when returning from travel overseas. 10/14
The only purpose this provision serves is to signal to people overseas who are seeking permission to enter this country, as well as people who are here on visas the United States has issued, that they are not welcome. (Oh... and to spy on them.) 11/14
There are more bad things in this bill—a needless expansion of the definition of “foreign intelligence,” provisions that weaken the role of amici in FISA Court proceedings, special treatment for members of Congress—but it would take too many tweets to cover them all. 12/14
The Senate should not pass this bill. The government already obtained approval from the FISA Court to conduct Section 702 surveillance until April 25. According to the administration, that approval will stay in place even if Section 702 lapses. 13/14
That means there is NO RUSH. It’s critical that Congress get this right. The House got it massively, egregiously wrong. It must be fixed in the Senate, however long it takes. Please call your senators and urge them not to pass this disgraceful bill. 14/14
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:16 pm to POTUS2024
As soon as this passes and is signed by Joetato, every American will have standing to raise a 4th Amendment challenge.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:22 pm to POTUS2024
quote:
Next time you pull out your phone and start sending messages in a laundromat… or a barber shop… or in the office building where you work… just know that the NSA might very well have access to those communications. 8/14
I’m not one for expanding FISA, but doesn’t the government already catch this when it’s sent over Verizon/ AT&T lines?
The laundromat has its own Wi-Fi, but it’s still being sent through an ISP, right?
What am I missing here?
This post was edited on 4/15/24 at 6:24 pm
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:41 pm to boosiebadazz
Yeah, I seem to remember some AT&T building in San Francisco had everything run through it.
I just came across this.
I just came across this.
This post was edited on 4/15/24 at 7:35 pm
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:42 pm to Bunk Moreland
I’d like to read the amicus OP talks about
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:43 pm to POTUS2024
This is what China does and Russia dreams of doing.
Stop voting GOPe.
Stop voting GOPe.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:45 pm to POTUS2024
It’d be something if we could all roll back the dial to the 1980s, kick our smart phones to the curb, and live life back then.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 6:47 pm to Bunk Moreland
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:05 pm to POTUS2024
Really glad Trump signed the FISA extension!
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:07 pm to gmac8604
quote:any man putting his hand to the plow and looking back isn't fit for the kingdom of God
It’d be something if we could all roll back the dial to the 1980s, kick our smart phones to the curb, and live life back then.
these are exciting times. might be a little scary but that's ok.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:25 pm to faraway
quote:
any man putting his hand to the plow and looking back isn't fit for the kingdom of God
So you’re saying if I scratch earth to plant seed, and if I look behind me to keep a straight row, I’m going to hell?
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:28 pm to POTUS2024
Maybe Trump is planning to use this on his opponents when he wins. Here is the problem, these judges will not allow Liberals to be targeted. mark my words. The Judges are a part of this, they should all be placed in jail
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:32 pm to boosiebadazz
quote:
I’d like to read the amicus OP talks about
In that tweet there is an image/link that goes to this:
FISA 702 Reauthorization Amendments: The Second Time is Not the Charm
In December 2023, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPCSI) unsuccessfully tried to expand the government’s authority under FISA 702 by permitting it to compel a broader swath of U.S. companies and persons to assist in such surveillance. We described that effort here. Ultimately, the HPSCI-sponsored bill (the FRRA) was pulled from the floor without receiving a vote.
HPSCI is back with a new effort, with the same goal—to overrule decisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISCR) interpreting the current statutory definition of “electronic communication service providers” (ECSPs) eligible to receive FISA 702 directives much more narrowly than the government wanted. Consistent with the plain statutory language, those decisions appear to have excluded from compelled assistance under FISA 702 non-communication service providers who lack direct access to communications streams but who merely have access to equipment on which communications are transmitted or stored.
As described in our prior blog post, the FRRA painted with too broad a brush and would have permitted the government to compel assistance not only from data centers, colocation providers, and business landlords, but also from operators and employees of shared workspaces, hotels where guests connect to the Internet, as well as from any third party involved in providing equipment, storage, or even cleaning services to such entities. It did so by dropping the requirement that the recipient of a FISA 702 directive be a “communication” service provider, by expressly making access to equipment alone enough for eligibility, and by adding the term “custodian” as a person that could be asked to provide assistance.
The new amendment is a marginal improvement over the last go-around, but it is still problematic. It is not a change that “narrowly updates the definition of electronic communication service provider under Section 702.” Like the FRRA, it: (1) drops the qualifier “communication” from the class of covered “service providers;” (2) makes access to communications-carrying equipment enough to establish eligibility; and (3) adds “custodian” to the list of individuals who can be forced to provide assistance. But unlike the FRRA, it then enumerates a list of business types that cannot be considered ECSPs, including public accommodations, dwellings, restaurants, and community facilities.
The new amendment would — notwithstanding these exclusions — still permit the government to compel the assistance of a wide range of additional entities and persons in conducting surveillance under FISA 702. The breadth of the new definition is obvious from the fact that the drafters felt compelled to exclude such ordinary places such as senior centers, hotels, and coffee shops. But for these specific exceptions, the scope of the new definition would cover them—and scores of businesses that did not receive a specific exemption remain within its purview.
And even with these specific exceptions, the definition would include, for example, the owners and operators of facilities that house equipment used to store or carry data, such as data centers and buildings owned by commercial landlords, who merely have access to communications equipment in their physical space. It could also include other persons with access to such facilities and equipment, including delivery personnel, cleaning contractors, and utility providers. It also means that any U.S. business could have its communications (if one side is foreign) tapped by a landlord with access to office wiring, or the data centers where their computers reside, even if it eliminates the possibility that the same surveillance could be conducted with the assistance of hotels, restaurants, or community centers. For a specific hypothetical example of how this surveillance could occur, see our prior blog post. That’s not a “narrow” change.
Does the new HPSCI amendment represent a significant expansion of the universe of 702 recipients? Absolutely. Like the FRRA, it would go a long way toward effectively restoring the broad assistance provision of FISA 702’s predecessor, the Protect America Act, which Congress specifically rejected when it originally enacted FISA 702 in 2008. While it would (relative to the FRRA) reduce the likelihood that individual U.S. persons’ communications could be collected by someone other than their communication service providers, it’s still a clear play for more access to communications among businesses that employ many U.S. persons.
Most problematically, it would expand the use of warrantless surveillance under FISA 702 into a variety of new contexts where there is a particularly high likelihood that the communications of U.S. citizens and other persons in the U.S. will be “inadvertently” acquired by the government. This amendment will expand the government’s use of FISA 702 to acquire communications. Congress should be fully aware of that when it considers this amendment.
zwillgen.com
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:38 pm to POTUS2024
This seems to breach Article IV of the US Bill of Rights. How should the publically informed react to this?
This post was edited on 4/15/24 at 7:39 pm
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:40 pm to POTUS2024
Thanks Johnson.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:53 pm to boosiebadazz
quote:
I’m not one for expanding FISA, but doesn’t the government already catch this when it’s sent over Verizon/ AT&T lines?
The laundromat has its own Wi-Fi, but it’s still being sent through an ISP, right?
What am I missing here?
I believe there is additional information that is on the server/router in a business, compared to what you get when you simply grab something from Verizon/AT&T. The language also compels assistance from a massively expanded group of entities.
Also, someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe sometimes messages just get sent through a specific wifi network and don't go onto the internet at large.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:56 pm to TTOWN RONMON
quote:
Maybe Trump is planning to use this on his opponents when he wins. Here is the problem, these judges will not allow Liberals to be targeted. mark my words. The Judges are a part of this, they should all be placed in jail
Judges aren't needed if no warrants are required. The thing about the NSA is that they have to make a determination what they want to grab from the spectrum. If they want to let HAM radio signals go without any interception, they can. If they wanted to 'white list' certain phone numbers, they can do that as well. I have no doubt that many people in govt have devices that are set up so they bypass all NSA collection.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 7:58 pm to POTUS2024
quote:
Judges aren't needed if no warrants are required. The thing about the NSA is that they have to make a determination what they want to grab from the spectrum. If they want to let HAM radio signals go without any interception, they can. If they wanted to 'white list' certain phone numbers, they can do that as well. I have no doubt that many people in govt have devices that are set up so they bypass all NSA collection.
However, they can capture the incoming National Security advisors phone call with the Russian Ambassador and use that to spin a Russian Narrative that was completely made up. The things they got away with is unreal and no one did anything to stop them and no one got in trouble.
Posted on 4/15/24 at 8:00 pm to gmac8604
quote:
It’d be something if we could all roll back the dial to the 1980s, kick our smart phones to the curb, and live life back then.
You can.
I have never had a smart phone.
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