Top tech companies are mounting a push to limit how US intelligence agencies collect and view texts, emails and other information about their users, especially American citizens.
The companies, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc. and Apple Inc., want Congress to limit Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as they work to renew the law before it expires at the end of the year, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
There is a growing bipartisan consensus in Congress to not only renew the law but to make changes in response to a series of reports and internal audits documenting abuses. That’s left the tech industry optimistic that broader reforms will get through Congress this time, according to two lobbyists who asked not to be identified relaying internal discussions.
Computer & Communications Industry Association, which counts Apple, Google, Meta and Amazon.com Inc. among its members.
Intelligence agencies say Section 702 is an essential tool that has generated critical information on the espionage and hacking activities of countries such as China and contributed to the successful drone strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri last year.
Under Section 702, the agencies can compel companies without a warrant to turn over communications, phone records and other data for national security investigations that target non-US citizens living outside the country, even if the communications of American citizens are involved. The information is kept in a database that analysts can access for authorized investigations that have a foreign intelligence purpose.
Top US officials acknowledge there have been problems – or so-called “compliance incidents” – regarding how authorities under Section 702 have been used. But they say significant efforts and reforms have been made to address the issues.
Key lawmakers and national security officials from President Joe Biden’s administration have begun talking about what changes might be possible.
Social media companies and technology firms have an economic incentive to seek restraints on what the government can force them to do, as their relationship with US agencies was criticized after former government contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden exposed how immense the global spying apparatus had become during the Obama administration.
Tech companies and their lobbying organizations want the ability to publicly disclose more information about how many times the government requests information about their users and customers and what kind of data they are being forced to hand over. They also want to restrict the government’s ability to use the information, such as requiring the FBI to obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before searching the Section 702 database for information on US citizens.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said during recent congressional hearings that the number of times bureau analysts searched the Section 702 database for information about US people dropped 93% in 2022 compared to 2021.
Searches Decline
There’s been a decline in the number of searches overall, from about 3.4 million in 2021 to about 204,000 in 2022, according to an FBI official who asked to remain anonymous because the new statistics aren’t yet official. That was largely due to reforms the FBI has made since 2021, including requiring analysts to “opt in” to search the Section 702 database, the official of 702 is a non-starter,” said Representative Darin LaHood, an Illinois Republican, during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on March 9. “You must first acknowledge that a problem exists before we can formulate his name was improperly queried multiple times by FBI analysts combing through data collected under the authority.
Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, welcomed LaHood’s statement. “We must take this opportunity to reform Section 702 and overhaul privacy protections for Americans,” she said.
* This article was automatically syndicated and expanded from Bloomberg.
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