In the wake of the stunning assault on the U.S. Capitol building on January 6th, it is inevitable that emotionally-charged reactions by Congress will ensue, as after any major crisis. In particular, there is concern that legislation may move early in this new Congress to try to expand the treatment of “domestic terrorism.” A justified desire to punish those who committed an unprecedented act of violence and vandalism must not lead to a contraction of the civil liberties of peaceful protestors or their right to political dissent.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and senators and ask them to support and cosponsor the Safeguarding Americans’ Private Records Act, H.R. 5675 and S. 3242. Introduced in the Senate by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and in the House by Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), this legislation would reform Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and other aspects of surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act (FISA) in order to protect Americans’ civil liberties and rights to due process and to increase transparency and oversight.

Today, President Trump announced his choice for the new leader of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). While his choice of candidate has generally been well received by commentators on both side of the isle it is unlikely he will implement the needed reforms to the FBI. While Jim Comey and the FBI have been grabbing headlines over the past year, few pundits, or politicians are seriously talking about the true threat surrounding the national police force.

Last year, Yahoo received a court order from the Justice Department (who obtained it from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) obligating Yahoo to scan all of its users’ emails for specific information, which has not been disclosed. We do know some of that search involved finding traces of malware. By modifying a standard spam filter, Yahoo was able to search through all of its users’ emails, not just individual accounts, in real time. Yahoo claims to have since discontinued this practice.

As Senator Tom Cotton is working to reverse some of the important surveillance reforms in the USA Freedom Act, establishment Republicans are lining up to defend his actions. Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post, responding to a FreedomWorks press release, accuses the liberty wing of the Republican Party of “preying on the public’s fears.”

The Inspector General of the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed in a report released on Thursday that spying powers claimed under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act has "not identified any major case developments" through the controversial statue. The report covers a three-year period between 2007 through 2009 and notes that the nation's top domestic law enforcement agency tripled its use of Section 215 requests beginning in 2004.