A proposed bill would be the biggest expansion of government surveillance in decades

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Congress is poised to enact the biggest expansion of government surveillance power since the Patriot Act.

The House has passed a radical amendment to a surveillance bill that would give the federal government sweeping authority to compel private American citizens and companies to spy for the National Security Agency.

Under current law, only “electronic communications service providers” such as Verizon and Google are subject to turn over communications to the government. With this new amendment, an enormous range of entities, from barber shops to laundromats to IT service providers, would be subject to this coercion.

The potential for abuse is staggering. There would be nothing to stop this administration — or a future one — from using the power to its fullest.

The Senate should remove this dangerous provision. If it does not, Senators should vote against the bill.

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Dear Senator,

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The reauthorization of Section 702 cannot be enacted as passed by the House. The federal government should not be given the authority to turn its citizens into spies.

If the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), as amended, becomes law, it would be the largest expansion of surveillance on domestic soil since the Patriot Act.

Private citizens and companies would be forced to assist in NSA surveillance as long as they have access to equipment on which communications are transmitted or stored, such as routers, servers, cell towers, etc.

The potential for abuse of this new authority is staggering, and as your constituent, I’m asking you to vote against cloture and prevent this dangerous expansion from becoming law.

If there is an opportunity to remove this provision by amendment, the Senate should remove it. If the provision is not removed, you should vote against RISAA.

Thank you,
[First Name] [Last Name]

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