Did you know that there is a law in the United States that allows for warrantless surveillance between people in the U.S. and in foreign countries. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is pending reauthorization from Congress. Some want to reform this piece of legislation in order to prevent dragnet surveillance, backdoor searches of phone and email records, and unlawful targeting of communities of color and immigrant communities. . This law is due to expire this year and would go away, unless Congress reauthorizes a provision.
This is an issue of privacy and national security. It is an issue of national security because often times it was through this piece that the government watches over conversations between people in the U.S. and people in foreign countries. This is a topic that has sparked quite the discussion!
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Questions:!
1) This article is being written in 2017, but Project REAL will be around for many years to come! Given that, find out what happened with this law in 2017, and where the policy stands today. So, (after your research)…What’s the Update?!
2) The policy this article is about was designed in response to the event following 9/11 :: The terrorist attacks in 2001. Given the need for national security, what are your feelings about the policy?
3) What are some ideas you have for striking a balance between the right to privacy with the need for national security?
4) How do laws shaping how the government deals with its citizens’ privacy impact your day-to-day life (and don’t try getting out of answering this by saying ‘it doesn’t’ :: we don’t offer a lot of questions where there can be a wrong answer, but THAT is definitely a wrong answer!
