Senate Passes Renewal Of Controversial Surveillance Law

The Senate reauthorized an anti-terrorism surveillance law just after midnight Friday, overcoming objections from lawmakers worried the revamp did not do enough to protect Americans’ privacy.

The Senate rushed to vote, 60 to 34 , in favor of the two-year renewal, barely missing approving it ahead of the law’s midnight expiration. With the House having passed the bill last week, it was set to go to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the U.S. to keep tabs on the communications of foreign nationals abroad. But critics say the law has been misused to spy on Americans, whose communications with foreign surveillance targets are often also swept up.

It was unclear until only a few hours before Section 702’s slated midnight expiration whether there would be at least a small lapse in the spying authority. A final deal on what amendments to consider was reached late in the evening.

Civil liberties advocates warned that a technical amendment made in the House vastly expanded the scope of the law to new electronic communication service providers. A vote to remove the provision, which would have meant sending the bill back to the House and letting it lapse, was the bill’s last major hurdle on the way to Senate passage.

At issue was a change in the House that drew little comment at the time. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, had successfully offered an amendment described as “narrowly updating the definition of electronic communication service provider.”

The amendment expanded the scope of communication service providers to also include individuals with access to equipment used to transmit or store