Security News > 2020 > May > Now there's nothing stopping the PATRIOT Act allowing the FBI to slurp web-browsing histories without a warrant

The bi-partisan push to install the privacy protection mechanism was led by Senators Ron Wyden and Steve Daines, and came following the news a planned addition to the USA PATRIOT Act, which is due to be renewed this week, would allow law enforcement to collect people's browsing histories without a warrant.

"Is it right at this unique time when millions of law-abiding citizens are at home, for the government to be able to spy on their internet searches and web browsing without a warrant?" Wyden asked the Senate ahead of the vote today.

A aforementioned planned addition to the USA PATRIOT Act, drafted by Senate leader Mitch McConnell, explicitly allows for the collection of search and browsing data in section 215 of the law.

It doesn't require probable cause, meaning that in reality, the FBI will be able to go to ISPs and demand web-surfing histories on individuals without requiring to produce any evidence of wrongdoing.

The proposed reintroduction of the ability to gather search records, especially without any warrant requirement, is an extraordinary step backwards, particularly when many thought that Section 215 might be scrapped entirely.

News URL

https://go.theregister.co.uk/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/13/us_spying_laws/