Hi,

When the infamous mass government spying law known as Section 702 of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was set to expire last month,
Demand Progress teamed up with an incredibly broad coalition of allies
ranging from progressive Democrats to some of the most conservative
members of Congress — and we were able to pass the most important new
privacy protections in a generation through the House of Representatives.

That's when Mitch McConnell went ballistic.

Just hours before Section 702 spying authorities were set to expire,
McConnell took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to launch an unhinged
attack on Demand Progress, calling us "Chicken Littles" and smearing us
with false conspiracy theories.^1

We know why Mitch McConnell is attacking us. Because he wants the
government to keep snooping into our personal communications. But we
refuse to be intimidated, and we will not back down — and today we're
asking you to make a donation to help us keep up the fight.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate $10 to Demand Progress Action to help
support our work, including our campaign to stop warrantless government
surveillance?

[ [link removed] ]Donate $10

[ [link removed] ]Donate $20

[ [link removed] ]Donate $40

[ [link removed] ]Or, donate another amount

Civil liberties groups have long warned that Section 702 could be abused
to spy on the communications of everyday Americans.^2

Those dark predictions have turned out to be all too prescient.

In the 15 years since it was first passed in the midst of the post-9/11
War on Terror panic, Section 702 has been used to spy on the phone calls,
texts, and emails of journalists, lawmakers, judges, and activists across
the political spectrum.^3

So when Section 702 was scheduled to expire last month, we took action to
curb these abuses.

Our coalition helped secure House passage of The Fourth Amendment Is Not
For Sale Act, which closes the data broker loophole and includes the most
significant privacy protections considered by Congress in generations.^4
This was pretty incredible considering we were going toe-to-toe against
the combined and coordinated forces of Mitch McConnell, Mike Johnson,
spying agencies, law enforcement, and data broker giants. We even came
within one vote in the House of closing the backdoor search loophole.^5

It's not often that you see progressive champions team up with
conservatives, and that's why intelligence community stooges in Congress
like Mitch McConnell went on the attack to try to distract from the facts
of the issue and split our coalition.

Unfortunately, we lost this round when the Senate passed and President
Biden signed a two-year extension of Section 702, including a new "Make
Everyone a Spy" provision that allows the federal government to secretly
force workers for private businesses — including janitors, doormen, and
security guards — to help the NSA hack their fellow Americans'
communications networks.^6

But we're not quitting. Section 702 comes up again in less than 2 years,
elements of it are going to be voted on again later this year, and we will
continue to fight rampant privacy abuses. With your help, we'll be able to
build an even broader and more powerful coalition to fight back and win.

[ [link removed] ]Please donate $10 to Demand Progress Action to help stop
warrantless government surveillance and push for other reforms.

With gratitude,

The team at Demand Progress Action

[ [link removed] ]DONATE

Sources:
1. C-SPAN, "U.S. Senate: Senate Session," [ [link removed] ]April 17, 2024.
2. Brennan Center for Justice, "Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA): A Resource Page," [ [link removed] ]April 14, 2024.
3. Brennan Center for Justice, "Why Congress Must Reform FISA Section
702—and How It Can," [ [link removed] ]April 9, 2024.
4. Common Dreams, "Amid Spying Fight, House Passes Fourth Amendment Is Not
For Sale Act," [ [link removed] ]April 17, 2024.
5. U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Clerk, "Roll Call 114 |
Bill Number: H. R. 7888," [ [link removed] ]April 12, 2024.
6. Common Dreams, "House Dems, GOP Team Up to Expand Warrantless Spying on
Americans," [ [link removed] ]April 12, 2024.
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