Privacy security

Tech giants call for privacy protections in surveillance reform

Technology firms, including Facebook and Google, have suggested five "changes" for Congress to consider while reforming foreign surveillance programs that gather vast amounts of personal data which can be accessed by authorities without a warrant.

In a letter to the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, US Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), 31 tech companies advocated for reforms to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The tech firms said they support reforms to Section 702 "that would maintain its utility to the US intelligence community while increasing the program’s privacy protections and transparency."

Section 702 of FISA authorizes warrantless data collection of electronic communications stored by US internet service providers or that move across the internet "backbone" located in the US via telecom providers such AT&T.

The statute, while explicitly aimed at non-US persons overseas, allows the collection of Americans' data as long such information is bundled with a single communication involving or related to a target.