UPDATE, 1/11/2018 : The House failed to pass the USA Rights Act amendment which would have brought meaningful reforms to the government's mass surveillance of Americans. 58 Republicans and 125 Democrats voted for it; while 178 Republicans and 55 Democrats against it. Now, the fight to stop illegal government spying programs shifts to the Senate, where a bipartisan group of Senators are already publicly stating they will filibuster the bill, as it does not include Fourth Amendment protections for innocent Americans.

The U.S. government has turned the Internet into something it was never intended to be: a system for spying on us in our most private moments. But the authority that government agencies like the NSA use to justify their warrantless domestic surveillance—Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act—is about to expire on January 19, 2018.

Lawmakers must now decide: will they protect the Fourth Amendment and fight for our privacy rights or will they support fake reform efforts that actually expand the NSA’s unconstitutional surveillance powers?

The Fourth Amendment clearly establishes our right to privacy, meaning government agencies like the NSA and the FBI should not be able to get into our stuff without first having probable cause and a court-ordered warrant. But these agencies use Section 702 to justify doing exactly that. By tapping Internet cables, undermining security standards, and getting our data from companies in secret, the NSA has built the largest surveillance apparatus in history and is collecting information on most Internet users.

With Section 702 about to expire, surveillance hawks in Congress are trying to push through a measure that would reauthorize Section 702 for another 6 years, without any reforms to rein in the government’s admitted and unconstitutional spying powers. In fact, the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 would expand the government’s authority to conduct warrantless surveillance. [1]

These mass surveillance programs are bad for our security and safety and make us all less free. [2]

The upcoming expiration of Section 702 gives lawmakers the opportunity to step up and reverse the government’s admitted illegal violation of our privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment.

“Defend the Fourth Amendment. Oppose S. 139, the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, and any attempts to expand the government’s warrantless surveillance powers. Support amendments that would end the backdoor search loophole and reinstate warrant protections for government surveillance programs."