Last night’s Republican debate drew a sharp contrast between candidates on the question of how surveillance ought to be used to fight global terrorism. Tempers flared as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio engaged in a heated back and forth over the wisdom of bulk spying in general, and the USA Freedom Act in particular.

As more and more of our activities move online and the internet plays an integral role in our day to day lives, it must be remembered that the rights we enjoy as American citizens do not stop at technology’s doorstep. It is important, therefore, to ensure that the protections established in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights serve Americans in the digital world just as effectively as they do in the real world. With this in mind, we therefore propose a Digital Bill of Rights:

On July 8th the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Going Dark: Encryption, Technology, and the Balance Between Public Safety and Privacy.” In his opening statement, Senator Chuck Grassley explained that “[c]ompanies are increasingly choosing to encrypt these devices in such a way that the company itself is unable to unlock them, even when presented with a lawful search warrant.”

The National Security Agency's vast spying apparatus has been a tremendous hurdle for the United States' still-burgeoning tech industry. Many lawmakers on Capitol Hill are, however, unconcerned with the economic impact of these surveillance programs, making it difficult for meaningful reforms to work their way through Congress.

Section 213 of the PATRIOT Act creates what is known as “sneak and peek” warrant. Law enforcement is authorized to conduct a search without first notifying the subject of the search. After 9/11, law enforcement insisted that this measure was necessary to investigate and prevent future terrorist attacks “without tipping off the terrorists.”

Did you know that the government can legally read your emails that are older than 180 days without a warrant?