Last night, the House of Representatives voted 388-88 to pass the law on freedom USA, amending USA Patriot Act 01 to restrict the national security Agency surveillance capabilities. The culmination of the bill is that loose ends NSA phone records program under Article 215 of the Patriot Act and prohibits the collection of bulk warrantless other folders.
That all sounds good right? But in Washington, DC, things are not as simple as they appear on the surface. Although the language limits the amount of bulk collection, it does not end bulk collection. A number of mass surveillance programs, including those operating under the FISA Amendments Act and Executive Order 12333, are not addressed by this legislation.
A vote for a bill that does not end mass surveillance is a vote to continue mass surveillance. For this reason, Golden Frog does not support the law on freedom USA. And we are not alone. EFF has pulled its support for the bill earlier this week. The Progress request also expressed serious concerns about the bill.
Golden Frog will not support a significant NSA reform bill that corrects many tactics that the government uses to invade Americans' privacy. This means to end mass surveillance programs allegedly authorized under FISA amendments to the Act and Executive Order 12333.
The Law on Freedom USA heads to the Senate next week, and we look that various modifications are proposed with the potential to both strengthen and weaken the bill. We will retain the hope that the legislation appears that is worthy of our support of legislation that drastically NSA reforms.
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