The author argues that the FBI cannot be trusted with conducting foreign intelligence queries on American individuals, as evidenced by yet another instance of the bureau violating privacy and civil liberties. Despite reforms touted by the FBI, they conducted unauthorized searches on the communications of a state senator and a U.S. senator. This highlights the larger issue that U.S. persons regularly communicate with people in other countries, creating a vast pool of digital communications that the FBI has access to without a warrant. With Section 702 set to expire in December 2023, the author calls for the closure of this unconstitutional loophole and the blocking of warrantless searches. The FBI and the Biden Administration are pushing to keep these backdoor searches, but there is bipartisan support to significantly change or terminate Section 702. The author asserts that any renewal must close the government’s warrantless access to communications, minimize data collection, and increase transparency to protect privacy.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/07/deja-vu-fbi-proves-again-it-cant-be-trusted-section-702