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