Podcast Episode 3: Does Section 702 Allow The Government To Spy On Us?

​Mark Udall, former U.S. Senator from Colorado and PPSA Senior Policy Advisor, interviews two senior attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Ashley Gorski, and Patrick Toomey, about Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
 
Sen. Udall says Section 702 was intended by Congress to be a tool to catch foreign spies and terrorists, not to be used for domestic spying. Patrick Toomey notes that it has been used millions of times by the FBI to spy on Americans. Hear:

• Ashley Gorski survey the history of Section 702, from the sensational hearings of Sen. Frank Church to the Carter Page debacle.

 

• Patrick Toomey explain how the program works and how its loopholes are exploited.

 

• Mark Udall discuss the re-emergence of “kingly powers” in American life, a time when many seem not to appreciate that “privacy is the key to all our freedoms.”

 
Finally, hear a review of how Section 702 must be reformed before Congress can consider reauthorizing it.