Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden is a well-known privacy officer who has served on the Senate Intelligence Report Committee since shortly after September 11th, calling the new provisions “one of the most dramatic and horrifying expansions of government oversight authority in history.”
Declassifying new types of businesses that can actually be considered ECSPs is an essential step in clarifying ambiguous changes in federal monitoring practices, according to the ACLU and other organizations. “Without this basic transparency, the law is likely to continue to allow NSA surveillance in the domestic soil that threatens the liberties of all Americans,” the group wrote in a letter to Gabbard this week.
The director of the National Intelligence Office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
In addition to urging Gabbard to declassify details regarding the scope of the 702 program, the ACLU and others are now publishing information to Gabbard to quantify the number of Americans who have been “accidentally” eavesdropped on by their own government. Intelligence Reporting Agency has long argued that it is “impossible” to do so, as analyses of eavesdropping involve government accessing unfairly and effectively violating those American rights.
However, the Privacy Group points to a study published by Princeton University in 2022. This details a methodology that can effectively solve the problem. “The intelligence news community that refuses to produce the requested estimate will undermine and undermine the legitimacy of Section 702,” the group says.
Gabbard has been widely reported to have eased her attitude towards government spies while working to secure her new position as director of the country's intelligence reporting equipment. For example, at the 116th Congress, Gabbard introduced legislation attempting to completely dismantle the Section 702 program. This is considered “Crown Jewels” or US intelligence report collection and is considered important for maintaining foreign threats overseas, including terlast organizations and cybersecurity threats.
While pleading from this position in January, Gabbard's newly supported views actually brought her closer to mainstream reformers. For example, in response to questions from the US Senate prior to her confirmation, Gabbard supported the idea that the Federal Bureau of Investigation would require a warrant before accessing communications for Americans enrolled in the 702 program.
The national security hawk murders, from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to former Intelligence Email Committee Chairman Mike Turner, have long opposed the requirement for this warrant, as they have traditionally had all the directors of the FBI. “This warrant requirement will be strengthened [intelligence community] Gabbard wrote that he wrote in late January in response to a Senate question.
The Section 702 program was reapproved last spring, but only for two more years. Early discussions about reapproval of the program are expected to begin again this summer.
Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress, one of the organisations involved in lobbying, noted that Gabbard has a long history of supporting civil liberties, referring to a recent statement on “encouragement” on secret surveillance programs. “The Congress needs to know, and the public deserves to know what Section 702 is in use,” Vitka says.
“Section 702 has been repeatedly used to implement legitimate oversight of Americans, including journalists, activists and even members of Congress,” adds Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy advisor at the ACLU. “Declassifying critical information and providing long-term basic data on the number of Americans whose communications were collected based on this surveillance are essential steps to increasing transparency as the next reauthorization debate approaches.”
