White House Recommends Curbing FBI Surveillance Powers

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Facts

  • On Monday, the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), a White House body, recommended that US Pres. Joe Biden limit the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) access to a warrantless surveillance program while also urging lawmakers to renew the legislation that underpins it.1
  • Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the government to collect the communications of foreigners living outside of the US without a warrant. Section 702 is set to expire this year, with some lawmakers calling for reform of the surveillance law.2
  • The PIAB has said a failure to renew Section 702 would be "one of the worst intelligence failures of our time." However, the board has recommended that the attorney general limit the FBI's ability to conduct non-national security related 702 queries amid concerns over improper use by the bureau.3
  • Data collected under Section 702 includes communications that foreigners have with US citizens, opening Americans up to warrantless surveillance. A FISA court opinion published in July revealed that the FBI made improper Section 702 queries on a senator, state lawmakers, and a state court judge.3
  • A separate court opinion claimed the FBI misused Section 702 more than 278K times between 2020 and 2021, with a PIAB member claiming the vast majority of these were "compliance mistakes." Other recommendations include having the FISA court declassify the threat category a query is made under.4
  • The PIAB, however, rejected a proposal to require a warrant whenever a US citizen's communications are collected under Section 702. The board also found no evidence that the FBI's alleged misuse of the program was willful or politically motivated, with the bureau saying they look forward to "engaging" with Congress about the PIAB's findings.5

Sources: 1New York Times, 2Reuters, 3The Hill, 4Washington Post, and 5FOX News.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Electronic Frontier Foundation. The recommendations from the PIAB only cover a fraction of the millions of backdoor searches the FBI conducts illegally on US citizens, thanks to Section 702. Politicians from both sides of the aisle have threatened to let the program lapse entirely if the FBI doesn't clean up its act, as the people grow fed up with warrantless surveillance. The government needs to respect the civil liberties of the American people.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by National Review. While these suggestions are welcome news, they don't change the fact that Section 702 has been an invaluable tool to keep Americans safe from harm. Information gathered under the provision has averted terrorist attacks and kept America a step ahead of adversaries. Indeed, most of the information in the President's Daily Briefing comes from Section 702, and agency mistakes shouldn't be allowed to discredit the program entirely.