NSA, Surveillance and the 4th Amendment

Updated 3/25/14: Today, the House Intelligence Committee leadership introduced bipartisan legislation to end the NSA bulk telephone metadata program.

HR 4291 FISA Transparency Modernization Act: bipartisan legislation that ends bulk collection of metadata under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, including telephone, email, and internet metadata. Also codifies a ban on the bulk collection of bulk firearm sales records, library records, medical records, tax returns, educational records, and other sensitive personal records, according to bill sponsors. (Read bill text.)

Meanwhile, President Obama, in a press conference in the Netherlands, said that he is considering options presented to him by the Intelligence Community about the telephone data program and is "looking forward to working with Congress to make sure that we go ahead and pass the enabling legislation quickly." (Read transcript.)

Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment Legislation

The Fourth Amendment states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

S 1599 USA FREEDOM Act: seeks to restore Americans’ privacy rights by ending the government’s dragnet collection of phone records and requiring greater oversight, transparency, and accountability with respect to domestic surveillance authorities, according to the bill sponsor. (Also, HR 3361 in the House.)
S 1631 FISA Improvements Act: increases privacy protections and public transparency of the National Security Agency call-records program in several ways, while preserving the operational effectiveness and flexibility of this vital national security program, according to bill sponsor. — Reported by Committee (Oct 31) —
S 1701 Freedoms and Privacy Act: to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to strengthen Fourth and Fifth Amendment Protections and freedoms of US citizens and ensure greater transparency and oversight of the ability of the Federal Government to collect information and conduct surveillance on the private lives of US citizens.
S 1621 Surveillance Transparency Act: to enhance transparency for certain surveillance programs authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
HR 3557 REAP Act: to provide increased protections for consumer or subscriber password information, and to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide that the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation may not access password information pursuant to an order under section 501 of that Act.
HR 3070 Surveillance State Repeal Act: To amend section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to reform access to certain business records for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations.
HR 3035 Surveillance Order Reporting Act: to permit periodic public reporting by electronic communications providers and remote computer service providers of certain estimates pertaining to requests or demands by Federal agencies under the provisions of certain surveillance laws where disclosure of such estimates is, or may be, otherwise prohibited by law.
HR 2818 Surveillance State Repeal Act: to repeal the USA PATRIOT Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.
HR 2736 Government Surveillance Transparency Act: "would allow companies to publicly disclose the volume and type of information they are ordered to turn over to federal intelligence agencies. Right now companies are barred from acknowledging when they are required to turn over information to the National Security Agency under some sections of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act," according to the bill sponsor.
S 1452 Surveillance Transparency Act: to enhance transparency for certain surveillance programs authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
HR 2399 LIBERT-E Act: According to bill sponsors, it "restricts the federal government’s ability under the Patriot Act to collect information on Americans who are not connected to an ongoing investigation. The bill also requires that secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court opinions be made available to Congress and summaries of the opinions be made available to the public."
S 1215 FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act: to strengthen privacy protections, accountability, and oversight related to domestic surveillance conducted pursuant to the USA PATRIOT Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
S 1182 A bill: to modify the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to require specific evidence for access to business records and other tangible things, and provide appropriate transition procedures.
HR 2603 Relevancy Act: To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to allow access to certain business records only if an investigation relates to a specific individual or specific group of individuals.
S 1168 Restore Our Privacy Act: to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to limit overbroad surveillance requests and expand reporting requirements.
S 1121 Fourth Amendment Restoration Act: To stop the National Security Agency from spying on citizens of the US.

Transparency and Oversight of National Security Programs

HR 3881 Expansion of National Security Agency Oversight Act: to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide for more transparency of the programs carried out under that Act.
HR 3882 National Security Agency Accountability Act: to require the Comptroller General to produce annual reports on programs under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
HR 3880 National Security Agency Data Collection Review Act: to provide for the expiration of certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 on December 31, 2014
HR 3756 NSA Transparency Act: To provide for the public disclosure of information regarding surveillance activities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
S 1551 Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform Act: to reform the authorities of the Federal Government to require the production of certain business records, conduct electronic surveillance, use pen registers and trap and trace devices, and use other forms of information gathering for foreign intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal purposes.
S 987 Free Flow of Information Act: to maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions for the federally compelled disclosure of information by certain persons connected with the news media.
HR 3436 A bill to require the Director of the National Security Agency and the Inspector General of the National Security Agency to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
HRes 350 A resolution establishing a select committee to investigate and report on the surveillance operations of the National Security Agency.
HR 2849 Privacy Advocate General Act: To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to establish an Office of the Privacy Advocate General.

Secret Courts Legislation and Secret Laws

Snowden's release of top-secret information also shed light on secret courts known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (or FISA Court), which oversee surveillance warrant requests against suspected foreign intelligence agents inside the US by federal law enforcement agencies.

HR 3228 FISA Court Reform Act: To establish the Office of the Constitutional Advocate to provide advocacy in cases before courts established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
HR 3195 FISA Court Act: To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide for the designation of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges by the President, majority of the Supreme Court, Speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives, and majority leader and minority leader of the Senate, and to provide for the public disclosure of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court decisions.
HR 3159 Ensuring Adversarial Process in the FISA Court Act: To provide for the appointment of a public interest advocate in matters involving a significant legal interpretation or construction of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
S 1467 FISA Court Reform Act: to establish the Office of the Special Advocate to provide advocacy in cases before courts established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
HR 3103 Intelligence Oversight and Accountability Act: To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to modify the reporting requirements for decisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
HR 2586 FISA Court Accountability Act: to provide for the designation of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
HR 2475 Ending Secret Law Act: To require the Attorney General to disclose each decision, order, or opinion of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that includes significant legal interpretation of section 501 or 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 unless such disclosure is not in the national security interest of the US.
S 1460 FISA Judge Selection Reform Act: to create two additional judge positions on the court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and modify the procedures for the appointment of judges to that court.
HR 2761 Presidential Appointment of FISA Court Judges Act: To require Presidential appointment and Senate confirmation of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges.
HR 2440 FISA Court in the Sunshine Act: To require the Attorney General to disclose each decision, order, or opinion of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that includes significant legal interpretation of section 501 or 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 unless such disclosure is not in the national security interest of the US.

Previous Updates

Updated 2/11/14: President Obama delivered a speech on Jan. 17, 2014, announcing the outcomes of a broad-ranging review of US intelligence programs. He also issued a new presidential policy directive that lays out new principles on intelligence collection and executive branch oversight of signals intelligence activities. The President urged Congress to establish a panel of advocates from outside the government to provide an independent voice in significant cases before the FISA Court. In addition, he said he would seek Congressional authorization for a new program to collect meta-data related to telephone calls in bulk — without the government holding the data. (See the White House fact sheet or watch his speech.)

Since Edward Snowden's leaking of top-secret of data this summer, Members of Congress have responded to the NSA's surveillance and intelligence gathering by introducing many bills. Weigh in and POPVOX will deliver your message to Congress.

Updated 12/21/13: The NSA Recommendations

President Obama has a lot of reading to do over his Christmas holiday! His "Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies" issued 300 pages of recommendations "to protect our national security and advance our foreign policy while also respecting our longstanding commitment to privacy and civil liberties." (Read thereport.) Over the next several weeks, the President will work with his national security team to study the Review Group’s report and determine which recommendations to implement, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, a federal judge this week found that the National Security Agency's program that collects information on nearly all telephone calls made to, from or within the United States is likely unconstitutional — appearing to violate the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures.

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