Section 702 of FISA has a new lease on life thanks to a reauthorization passed over the weekend. Credit: Kropic1 / Shutterstock A controversial provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was renewed this weekend, despite concerns from lawmakers and other critics that it allows for the largely unregulated gathering of Americans’ personal information. The reauthorization of FISA Section 702, dubbed the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, and the Senate on Saturday, after which President Biden signed off on the move, over opposition on both sides of the aisle in both chambers. Sen. Ron Wyden, a long-time critic of Section 702, issued a statement on Saturday, after voting “no” on the reauthorization. “The Senate waited until the 11th hour to ram through renewal of warrantless surveillance in the dead of night,” he said. “Time after time anti-reformers pledge that their band-aid changes to the law will curb abuses, and yet every time, the public learns about fresh abuses by officials who face little meaningful oversight.” Under the new RISAA law, “any … service provider” providing a means of electronic communication can be required to turn over any communications to the authorities, according to a report from The Register. This broad mandate appears to implicate both personal and enterprise accounts from major tech companies such as Google and Microsoft. Section 702 is designed to provide for the collection of electronic communications from overseas among individuals who are considered threats by US law enforcement and intelligence agencies, without the need for warrants or exigent circumstances typically required for this type of surveillance. The problem, according to critics, arises because the section authorizes the collection of information about US citizens who communicate with others abroad. That lack of oversight, the critics say, has led to numerous abuses, with even dedicated FISA courts — which have generally been quite favorable to law enforcement and intelligence — criticizing the FBI for failing to follow the rules in obtaining its information via Section 702. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, US intelligence agencies perform more than 200,000 “backdoor” searches on Americans’ private communications every year, despite the rules stating that such searches are only to be run in instances where they are reasonably likely to uncover foreign intelligence or criminal activity. “Information collected under [Section 702] can be used to prosecute and imprison people, even for crimes that have nothing to do with national security,” according to the ACLU. “It is profoundly disheartening that leadership in Congress chose to bypass meaningful, bipartisan reform bills and jam through a bill that entrenches and expands the government’s warrantless surveillance authority under FISA Section 702 despite years of abuse while undercutting amendments to protect Americans’ privacy and civil rights,” said Electronic Privacy Information Center senior counsel Jeramie Scott, in a statement. Related content feature State of IT jobs: Mixed signals, changes ahead Layoffs and salary plateaus in the wake of exuberant pandemic-era IT hiring has the IT talent market in flux. And while employers pay premiums for hard-to-find AI skills, IT pros seek the same for filling in-office openings. By Sarah K. White May 17, 2024 10 mins Salaries Hiring IT Jobs feature Project manager salary: 5 key tips to earn more Project managers need to know what their worth is — and make others know it, as well. Here’s a look at project manager compensation, skills that increase a project manager’s pay scale, and how to negotiate a more competitive project By Josh Fruhlinger May 17, 2024 14 mins Salaries Project Management Careers feature Cyber resilience: A business imperative CIOs must get right With ransomware at an all-time high, companies need to understand that being cyber resilient means going beyond compliance to considering all aspects of a business, from operational continuity to software supply chain security. By Andrada Fiscutean May 16, 2024 9 mins Regulation Incident Response Data and Information Security feature Shine a Spotlight on Your Team’s IT Excellence with CIO Awards Canada By Allice Shandler May 16, 2024 4 mins Events IT Leadership PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe