How Congress can end the era of warrantless spying on Americans

Mark Udall represented Colorado in the U.S. Senate from 2009 to 2015.  He is a senior adviser to the Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability and John C. Yang is the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice –AAJC.  Together they penned the opinion editorial, How Congress can end the era of warrantless spying on Americans:

"In mid-December, Congress approved a temporary extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was due to expire on Dec. 31. By mid-April, Congress must decide whether or not the provision should be reauthorized. 

This controversial law was meant to allow the government to collect foreign communications but has been repeatedly used to spy on Americans. 

Congress must not extend Section 702 without substantial reforms, including a requirement that the government get a warrant before using the law to read Americans’ private communications. It can do that by passing the bipartisan Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act, or the Protect Liberty Act. 

Introduced by Reps Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the surveillance reform bill would plug the “backdoor search” loophole — and end many other abusive spying practices, too.  

The dangers created by warrantless surveillance are real." 

Read the rest of the Op Ed at https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/4395536-how-congress-can-end-the-era-of-warrantless-spying-on-americans/