Today, the Brennan Center and more than 25 good government groups sent a letter to Reps. Ted Poe, Zoe Lofgren and Thomas Massie in support of their bill that aims to close backdoor NSA loopholes. Specifically, the bill:
- closes “backdoor search loophole” by prohibiting searches of databases containing communications of U.S. person collected under Section 702 of FISA absent a court order or special circumstances;
- prohibits the searching of communications of a known U.S. person collected without a court order under an Executive order and;
- prohibits the government from requiring or requesting that any person or entity build back doors into its products or services that would facilitate electronic surveillance of users of such products or services.
These measures would advance government surveillance reform, group said, and help rebuild lost trust among Internet users and businesses, while also preserving national security and intelligence authorities.