Senate leaders from both parties are urging their colleagues to renew an expiring warrantless surveillance law before it lapses at midnight on Friday. The law in question is Section 702, which allows the government to collect messages of foreigners abroad without a warrant from U.S. companies like AT&T and Google for intelligence and counterterrorism purposes.
While the deadline adds pressure on senators not to vote for any amendments to the House-passed bill, a national security court has granted a request from the government to allow the program to operate for another year even if the law expires. However, there could still be gaps in collecting some messages if the law lapses.
The House bill seeks to tighten controls on Section 702 while extending it for two more years. Senator Chuck Schumer is expected to introduce proposed amendments before the Senate votes on the bill, including one to bar officials from searching messages collected under Section 702 for the content of communications by Americans without a warrant.
The Justice Department has committed to using an expanded definition of service providers exclusively for the type of service at issue in a recent court ruling and will report to Congress every six months about its use. The Senate may also consider a proposal to prevent the government from purchasing personal information about Americans from third-party data brokers without a warrant.
Despite the expiration of the law, the Section 702 program can continue to operate under certifications issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court until next April 4. However, there could be temporary pauses in collection if a provider refuses to cooperate after the law lapses.
The Justice Department believes it could win a dispute if a program participant stops cooperating after the law expires, citing a precedent involving Yahoo in 2008. However, the government may not be allowed to force a new service to participate in the program if it emerges during the lapse of the law.
