Dear All,
Last week, we wrote to this list to express our support for a meaningful
reform of Section 702 of the United States’ Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act_of_1978_Amendments_Act_of_2008>,
which is up for reauthorization at the end of this year. Section 702 is the
statute under which the National Security Agency allegedly has authority to
conduct the mass surveillance practices that we are challenging in Wikimedia
Foundation v. NSA
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_v._NSA>.
We are writing on this matter again to let you know that we have joined a
letter
<https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/2017-10-02_coalition_letter_section_702_backdoor_search_reform.pdf>
to the ranking members of the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary
Committee
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_the_Judiciary>,
encouraging specific reforms to Section 702. It was also signed by the
American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the
American Library Association, PEN America, and many other organizations
with a variety of mandates and interests. The letter places special
emphasis on closing the “backdoor search” loophole, which allows law
enforcement to query certain government surveillance databases for
individuals’ personal information in national security investigations
without needing to demonstrate probable cause.
As we continue to challenge the constitutionality of “Upstream” mass
surveillance practices in Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA, we are also
continuing to monitor the effort to press for meaningful reform of Section
702. We believe that closing the backdoor search loophole would be a small
step, yet a step in the right direction. For more detail on much-needed
reforms to Section 702, see the ACLU’s informational page
<https://www.aclu.org/issues/national-security/privacy-and-surveillance/warrantless-surveillance-under-section-702-fisa>.
You can also follow the progress of Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA on the case
landing page <https://policy.wikimedia.org/stopsurveillance/>.
Best,
Jan
==
Jan Gerlach
Public Policy Manager
Wikimedia Foundation
*new address (Oct. 2, 2017)*:
1 New Montgomery Street, Suite 1600
San Francisco, CA 94104
jgerlach(a)wikimedia.org