ACLU Says Americans' Communications Swept Up by FISA's Section 702 Not 'Accidental'

Union in a Friday blog post. ACLU staff attorney Ashley Gorski said her organization released more than a dozen Section 702-related documents received from several intelligence agencies through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. “The new documents underscore many of our concerns with surveillance conducted under this law, which violates our core constitutional rights to privacy, freedom of expression, and freedom of association,” she wrote. Section 702 will sunset at the end of the year unless reauthorized (see 1702280014). One of the FOIA documents obtained, said Gorski, is an amicus brief filed by former government prosecutor Amy Jeffress with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) in 2015, when it was considering surveillance reforms. Gorski explained that Section 702 allows the government to target any foreigner abroad to gather intelligence and the 90,000 different individuals and groups that were targeted didn’t have to have a connection to criminal activity or terrorism. Intelligence agencies also conduct back-door searches of Americans from the hundreds of millions of communications annually collected through Section 702 surveillance, alleged Gorski. Citing Jeffress’ brief, Gorski said the FBI’s back-door searches are “particularly troubling, as the agency routinely conducts these searches in ordinary criminal investigations that are unrelated to national security.” She said the FISC rejected Jeffress’ contention the FBI searches are unlawful, while the government argued the searches are essential for national security. Gorski said Americans shouldn’t rely on the government to restrict itself on privacy and free expression and urged Congress to rein in the program. Several lawmakers have pressed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the number of Americans whose communications are intercepted annually through Section 702 (see 1704070041). DOJ didn't comment.