Tell Congress: No to Surveillance! No to Section 702!
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has been regularly abused by the US government to surveil Americans and infringe on our privacy. This is an ILLEGAL violation of the individual rights of Americans on an alarming scale. Congress must decide whether or not to reauthorize Section 702 by April 19, and it’s crucial we loudly tell them to either reform it to ensure the privacy of Americans is protected or to not renew it at all!
Section 702 is a post 9/11 policy that was used to monitor “foreign terrorists,” but inevitably includes Americans in its mass surveillance. It has been abused to search the private communications of social justice advocates and gives the US government an avenue to continue to do so. The information obtained during these searches is valid in court, even if it is for a crime unrelated to the initial reasoning for the search. This is especially concerning at this time considering the mass mobilizations for Palestine across the US and the equivalent crackdown on advocates for Palestine by powerful zionists. This fear is validated by the actions of House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner who, in a closed door meeting, showed slides of pro-Palestine protesters as a means of advocating for the renewal of Section 702.
The renewal of Section 702 will only serve to criminalize advocates for Palestine and violate the rights of Americans. Tell Congress: No to Surveillance! No to Section 702! Sign the petition below, and, if you live in the US, send a letter to your representative and senators.
Stopping the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as it currently stands is crucial to protect the individual rights of Americans and restrict the criminalization of pro-Palestine advocacy. Section 702 is up for renewal on April 19, and we, the undersigned, are expressing our concern with it and demanding it either be reformed to ensure the privacy of Americans is protected or thrown away entirely!
Section 702 is regularly abused by the US government to surveil Americans, often in an effort to advance its imperial interests abroad. It was adopted post 9/11, and given the laundry list of reactionary choices that were made by the US government during that time, it should be scrutinized and reformed or thrown away entirely. On paper, Section 702 facilitates the US government’s monitoring of “foreign terrorists” by authorizing the collection of the private communications of foreigners located outside of America without a warrant, but in practice it pulls in the private communications of Americans as well. This means federal agents can search through the phone calls, emails, and text messages of American citizens without a warrant under Section 702. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, over 200,000 of these warrantless searches of Americans’ private communications are conducted a year.
Section 702 is especially concerning considering its susceptibility to manipulation. This is exasperated by the fact that the information collected under Section 702 can be used to prosecute and imprison people, even if the crime has nothing to do with the intended purpose of the searches–America’s national security. The lack of necessary barriers, such as warrants, to conduct these searches creates more opportunities for biases to go unchecked. The lack of oversight when something as significant as sensitive personal information is on the line is an infringement on the rights of Americans. It forces us to ask ourselves: What is so important to the US that it’s willing to violate the rights of its own citizens? The answer lies in the way the US government has used Section 702 in the past–to squash any barriers in the way of its imperialist goals, whether they are in the US or outside of it.
A one-pager by the Brennan Institute for Justice revealed through declassified documents that government officials conducted baseless warrantless searches of the private communications of racial justice protesters, among many others. This makes the intended purpose of renewing Section 702 extremely questionable, especially when House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner showed slides of pro-Palestine protesters as a means to drum up support for the law. If the true purpose of Section 702 is not to illegally spy on Americans then why would Americans expressing their first amendment rights be used as an example of who this surveillance could target?
We, the undersigned, hope that you consider our concerns and take action in not allowing Section 702 to be renewed as it stands. Its renewal will only serve to criminalize social justice advocates and violate the rights of Americans. We want to make our demand clear: Section 702 either be reformed to ensure the privacy of Americans is protected or thrown away entirely!