Friend,

Have you heard of Section 215 of the Patriot Act? Warning: It’s really bad news.

Since 2001, a critical section of the Patriot Act has allowed the government to collect an astonishing amount of sensitive data about the daily lives of people who live in the United States. And now Congress is debating whether to reauthorize Section 215 and cement the Trump administration’s ability to spy on people without a warrant.

We can’t let this happen. Tell your member of Congress to shut down Section 215 of the Patriot Act.

As Edward Snowden revealed, Section 215 allows the government to collect incredibly sensitive information like our phone calls, location data, medical records and financial transactions. Everyone’s personal data can get swept up in Section 215. But we’re not all being surveilled equally.

Mass surveillance is racist in its impact. Instead of targeting the increasing threat of violent white supremacy, the NSA and other federal agencies likely use Section 215 to collect bulk data on Muslim communities, Black political activists and immigrants of color — all without needing to use a warrant or show probable cause.

And right now Congress might buckle to Trump’s demand to make this invasive surveillance authority permanent. Your representative needs to hear from you: Tell Congress to end Section 215 and stop racist spying.

Leaks in the last month have revealed that the FBI lied about the extent of its tracking of Black activists and was covering up a program called IRON FIST that it created to target and infiltrate racial-justice groups.¹ And more recently, news broke that the FBI is treating groups that are protesting the administration's abhorrent immigration policies at the U.S. border as “extremist organizations.”² Congress shouldn’t reauthorize these vast spying powers while the FBI is surveilling activists and trying to disrupt the fight for racial justice.

These developments are alarming: We can’t allow government agencies to use sweeping surveillance authorities to go after anyone who opposes the Trump administration’s inhumane policies.

Tell Congress to shut down Section 215 of the Patriot Act for good.

Thanks for all that you do—

Lucia, Sandy, Collette and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net

P.S. Trump wants to make a racist surveillance provision of the Patriot Act permanent. Urge your rep to stand up to him and protect your civil rights.

1. “The FBI vs. Black Lives,” Free Press, Aug. 23, 2019: https://act.freepress.net/go/33021?t=9&akid=13401%2E11784832%2EqHpJT3.

2. “Document Reveals the FBI Is Tracking Border Protest Groups As Extremist Organizations,” HuffPost, Sept. 4, 2019: https://act.freepress.net/go/33022?t=11&akid=13401%2E11784832%2EqHpJT3.