Security News > 2020 > May > US Lawmakers Push for Internet Privacy Amendments to USA Freedom Act
United States lawmakers this week will vote on an amendment to the surveillance bill known as the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act that would limit law enforcement access to people's search and browsing histories.
Enacted in June 2015, the USA FREEDOM Act amends, among others, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and USA PATRIOT Act, imposing limits on the bulk collection of data on U.S. citizens by the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies.
If renewed, the USA Freedom Act would reauthorize several surveillance programs, allowing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, among others, to gain access to an individual's Internet browsing and search history without a warrant.
An amendment introduced by Senator Ron Wyden and Senator Steve Daines to the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act, which aimed to prohibit the use of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act to access such data without a warrant, was rejected in the Senate, one vote short of the 60 needed for approval.
This week, the House of Representatives will vote on the bipartisan amendment proposed by Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Warren Davidson to the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act, which seeks to prohibit the warrantless collection of such data.