Sens. Mike Lee and Dick Durbin Reintroduce the SAFE Act to Require Warrants Before the Government Can Help Itself to Americans’ Communications

U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) have updated and reintroduced the Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act – a measure that seeks to restore the constitutional balance between national security and the civil liberties of the American people.
 
“The bill’s full name says it all,” said Bob Goodlatte, former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and PPSA Senior Policy Advisor. “Congress can reauthorize FISA Section 702 to protect the American people from foreign threats, while adding provisions that safeguard our most precious constitutional rights here at home.
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• The SAFE Act imposes the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement when the government wants to inspect the communications of an American, yet preserves robust intelligence collection against foreign adversaries overseas.

• The legislation closes the data broker loophole, requiring a warrant before agencies such as the FBI, the IRS, and others can search Americans’ most sensitive digital data purchased from third-party brokers.

• The bill bolsters the role of amici, or civil liberties experts, who advise the secret FISA courts in cases involving journalists, religious institutions, political activity, and other matters that strike at the heart of Americans’ First Amendment rights.

• It also closes the “make everyone a spy” loophole, which currently allows the National Security Agency to secretly compel a vast range of businesses – including those offering free Wi-Fi – to produce the communications of their customers.

 
There is growing talk on Capitol Hill about a “clean” reauthorization of Section 702 – one that would reject any reforms and leave intact the FBI’s ability to conduct warrantless searches of Americans’ communications swept up in the NSA’s global data trawl.
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The SAFE Act leaves intact surveillance targeting foreigners abroad, demonstrating that Congress does not need to choose between security and liberty. The bipartisan leadership of Sens. Lee and Durbin reflects polling that shows large majorities of Republicans and Democrats favor a warrant requirement for Americans’ data.
 
Section 702 must be reauthorized by Congress by April 20, or it will expire. As the reauthorization debate accelerates, the reforms contained in the SAFE Act should not be treated as optional accessories – they should be the starting point of any serious discussion about surveillance reform.

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