Security News > 2023 > July > White House: Losing Section 702 spy powers would be among 'worst intelligence failures of our time'

The White House has weighed in on the Section 702 debate, urging lawmakers to reauthorize, "Without new and operationally damaging restrictions," the controversial snooping powers before they expire at the end of the year.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the American government to monitor electronic communications of foreign persons outside of the United States [PDF], and people they confer with, including US persons.

In an effort to "Inform ongoing discussions about Section 702's reauthorization," the Biden administration today released the "Vast majority" of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board report on the Fed's surveillance power, voicing its support for reauthorization.

"We agree with the unanimous conclusion reached by this group of independent, deeply experienced experts that failure to reauthorize Section 702 could be 'one of the worst intelligence failures of our time,'" the White House statement reads.

Despite unanimously recommending that Congress renew Section 702, the PIAB's report [PDF] does acknowledge that "Complacency, a lack of proper procedures, and the sheer volume of Section 702 activity led to FBI's inappropriate use" of the surveillance powers to query US persons.

These include establishing a common standard for US person queries across all agencies; boosting the FBI's internal compliance program; codifying policies and improving transparency by declassifying some categories of intercepted communications; and including the participation of amici curiae in the annual Section 702 certification process "To better protect privacy and civil liberties."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/07/31/biden_section_702_intelligence/