Defense & Intelligence Policy, Business and Technology

Clock ticking down on NSA surveillance powers

The Hill: Congress will return from its week-long Thanksgiving break facing a rapidly-shrinking timeline to reform and renew an authority the intelligence community says is critical to identifying and disrupting terrorist plots.

The key piece of the law, known as Section 702 and part of foreign surveillance measures passed in 2008, is set to expire at the end of the year. It allows the NSA to collect the texts and emails of foreigners abroad without an individualized warrant — even when the subjects communicate with Americans in the U.S.

Throughout the fall, privacy advocates on Capitol Hill pushed for changes to the law to curtail what critics say is an abuse of Americans’ Fourth Amendment protections — a push that seemed to gain some momentum despite the objections of the Trump administration.

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