U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) speaks to reporters before a Senate luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on December 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) FISA reauthorization heads to Biden’s desk after Senate passage A two-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act clears the chamber in a 60-34 vote Saturday. Apr 20, 2024 By Tim Starks
Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, speaks alongside fellow Freedom Caucus members during a press conference. A bill sponsored by Davidson to limit law enforcement and intelligence agencies from purchasing personal data about Americans passed the House on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) House passes bill to limit personal data purchases by law enforcement, intelligence agencies The bill’s passage was cheered by privacy advocates, but faces an uncertain future in the Senate and with the White House. Apr 17, 2024 By Derek B. Johnson
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., spoke to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on March 22, 2022. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) With a mysterious surveillance target identified, calls for Congress to change course Civil liberties advocates want to narrow the scope of an amendment to a controversial surveillance law. Apr 17, 2024 By Tim Starks
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) (C) talks with committee members Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) (L) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) while hearing testimony from former Special Counsel Robert Hur in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) House passes extension of expiring surveillance authorities Just days ago, lawmakers voted against even allowing a debate on an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Apr 12, 2024 By Tim Starks
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., listens during a press conference following a House GOP caucus meeting at the U.S Capitol on April 10, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) Renewal of controversial surveillance law screeches to a halt in the House Lawmakers defeated a procedure allowing debate on extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Apr 10, 2024 By Tim Starks
U.S. House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) (L) and House Intelligence Ranking Member Jim Himes (D-CT) speak following a briefing with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the U.S. Capitol on February 15, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) House hurtles toward showdown over expiring surveillance tools At issue is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorizes snooping that some consider vital to security and others view as an out-of-control privacy… Apr 9, 2024 By Tim Starks
A pedestrian walks past a seal reading “Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation”, displayed on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building, in Washington, DC, on August 15, 2022. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) FBI queries for Americans’ digital data drops, yet advocates for surveillance reform remain undeterred An Office of the Director of National Intelligence report shows that U.S. person queries of Section 702 data declined 96% in 2022. Apr 28, 2023 By Tonya Riley
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, presided over a hearing of the Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Feb. 09. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) White House faces deeply skeptical Congress as it advocates for controversial surveillance tool Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires in December, is in perhaps its most precarious position yet. Feb 28, 2023 By Tonya Riley
(Geoff Livingston / Flickr) Supreme Court declines to hear Wikimedia case against NSA surveillance program Critics of the high court's decision not to hear the case say the justices have struck a blow against civil liberties. Feb 21, 2023 By Tonya Riley
The Supreme court will decide whether to take on the case in which Wikimedia challenges an NSA surveillance program. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images) Wikimedia wants the Supreme Court to hear case over NSA surveillance. Here’s what’s at stake. The case over the National Security Agency's digital monitoring activities could have major implications for the future of government spying. Feb 17, 2023 By Tonya Riley