Glad to see these guys still at it:
http://techcrunch.com/...
A trio of Senators wrote an op-ed for the LA Times calling for NSA reform and decrying the bill that passed the House recently as insufficient for the protection of the privacy of U.S. citizens.
The Senators, Rand Paul, Mark Udall and Ron Wyden, come from both parties. Senator Wyden is known as the senator that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lied to, regarding government surveillance.
The editorial is punchy, saying that “for years [...] senior government officials claimed that domestic surveillance was narrow in focus and limited in scope. But in June 2013, Americans learned through leaked classified documents that these claims bore little resemblance to reality.”
The senators also mention a “loophole” in American law that allows the government to “read some Americans’ emails without ever getting a warrant.” This is likely a comment on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 that, somehow, still allows for the government to get its hands on email that is older than 180 days with a simple subpoena.
The group wants to ban bulk collection of “American’s private information,” fix the ECPA, and install an “advocate” in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. - Tech Crunch, 6/17/14
The Senators also addressed the USA Freedom Act:
http://touch.latimes.com/...
The debate over exactly what reforms should be made is likely to continue for at least the next few years as Americans continue to learn about the scale of ongoing government surveillance activities. As an initial step, we have worked with our colleagues in the House and Senate to build support for a package of real and meaningful changes to the law that would promote the restoration of Americans' constitutional rights and freedoms, while protecting national security.
This package of reforms includes overhauling domestic surveillance laws to ban the bulk collection of Americans' personal information, and closing the loophole that allows intelligence agencies to deliberately read Americans' emails without a warrant. It includes reshaping the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by installing an advocate who can argue for Americans' constitutional rights when the court is considering major cases, and by requiring that significant interpretations of U.S. law and the Constitution be made public. And it would strengthen and clarify the government's authority to obtain individual records quickly in genuine emergency situations.
These reforms would erect safeguards against the further erosion of our right to privacy, and ensure greater transparency and openness.
We are encouraged by the broad bipartisan support that this package of reforms has received and by the endorsements from both privacy advocates and business leaders. Accordingly, we are disappointed by the House of Representatives' recent vote to approve a revised version of the USA Freedom Act, with nearly all of the essential reforms either watered down or removed.
It is even more disappointing, although not surprising, that some of the same officials who were responsible for conducting dragnet surveillance and misleading the public about it are now working to make sure that any attempt at reform legislation is as limited as possible.
Although the bill approved by the House is intended to end bulk collection, we are not at all confident that it would actually do so. The bill would require the government to use a "selection term" to secretly collect records, but the definition of "selection term" is left vague enough that it could be used to collect all of the phone records in a particular area code or all of the credit card records from a particular state. Meanwhile, the bill abandons nearly all of the other reforms contained in the Senate version of the USA Freedom Act, while renewing controversial provisions of the Patriot Act for nearly three more years.
This is clearly not the meaningful reform that Americans have demanded, so we will vigorously oppose this bill in its current form and continue to push for real changes to the law. This firm commitment to both liberty and security is what Americans — including the dedicated men and women who work at our nation's intelligence agencies — deserve. We will not settle for less. - Los Angeles Times, 6/16/14
These three Senators are not alone in calling for real reform:
http://thehill.com/...
A coalition of more than two dozen privacy and digital rights groups is asking President Obama not to renew a contested National Security Agency program when its legal authority expires this week.
In a letter to be sent on Tuesday, organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Electronic Privacy Information Center urged Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder not to seek another court order allowing the agency to collect Americans’ phone records.
The contested program is “not effective,” “unconstitutional” and “has been misused,” they wrote.
“It should end.”
The NSA needs approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court every 90 days in order to continue its collection of records, which track the numbers people call as well as the length and frequency of their conversations but not what they actually talk about. The current authorization runs out on Friday. - The Hill, 6/17/14
If you would like more information, please contact Senators Udall, Wyden and Paul for more details:
Udall: (202) 224-5941
http://www.markudall.senate.gov/...
Wyden: (202) 224-5244
http://www.wyden.senate.gov/...
Paul: (202) 224-4343
http://www.paul.senate.gov/...
It's important to note that Senator Udall is running in a very competitive race against Tea Party Congressman Cory Gardner (R. CO). Udall has a long record of standing up for civil liberties and deserves our support:
http://www.coloradoindependent.com/...
Udall’s battle in the War on Terror-era for greater civil liberty protections has been a long slog. He knows it could be sidetracked at any time.
In video from May, 2011, Udall is clearly swimming against the current. The clip below is from a floor speech where he and Weyden were seeking to slow renewal of the Patriot Act, which included provisions he knew were ripe for abuse based on top secret Intelligence Committee meetings he attended after the law had passed. No one on the floor of the Senate or even much in the political press wanted to hear what he and Weyden had to say. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid effectively cut off debate. Conservative outlets determined to miss the point called Udall a “flip flopper” for having voted for the bill in the past.
“I resent this rush to rubber-stamp laws that endanger liberties we hold so dear,” Udall said in a conference call with state reporters at the time. “They have always pressed for short-term extensions [to the Patriot Act] without debate. Now we were notified just a few days ago that we would be asked to pass a four-year extension of the law. We are ensuring Americans will live with the status quo for four more years.
“Bottom line is that the Patriot Act has kept us safe for ten years but Coloradans have asked me to work to protect their liberties and freedoms and I won’t vote for it again,” he said. - Colorado Independent, 6/17/14
Click here to donate and get involved with Udall's campaign:
http://markudall.com/