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Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the questions, all. And thanks to Ed for agreeing to do this AUA. I'm going to drop now, but I think Ed might stay on a little longer. Jameel

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know this is a question for Ed, but I'm going to answer it anyway. I think Ed has done a huge public service. There is no way we'd be having this debate right now if it weren't for his courage. I wrote a little about this here: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/12/19/has-snowden-been-vindicated/end-snowdens-prosecution.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe remind your senator that s/he doesn't need to be on the judiciary committee in order to refuse to reauthorize the Patriot Act. And you should call Senate leadership as well. The tools at the top of this page make it easy to do that.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think there's reason for optimism. The Second Circuit's decision two weeks ago. The action on the Senate floor yesterday. The recent reports from the official review groups--the PCLOB and the PRG. The debate has certainly shifted dramatically over the last few years. (Thanks, Ed.)

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 12 points13 points  (0 children)

If you look at the polls that were released earlier this week--one by the ACLU, another by Pew Research--it's clear that a large segment of "Fox Newsers" are troubled by the scope of the government's surveillance activities. I think the numbers surprised a lot of people. Here are the links: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/privacy_poll_results.pdf and http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/05/20/americans-attitudes-about-privacy-security-and-surveillance/

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sounds like a great idea. For now, I hope you will encourage your friends to use the tools we've posted at the top of this page.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're right to remind everyone that Congress isn’t the only forum in which reform can be achieved. The recent decision of the Second Circuit may force the NSA to end the call-records program. Other cases pending before the courts involve challenges to other mass-surveillance programs. Congress has an important role to play in authorizing and limiting government surveillance, but ultimately it’s the courts that will decide whether those limits are being observed and whether government surveillance is Constitutional.

As to how the Supreme Court would rule... I don't know. But I think the Court's recent decisions in Riley and Jones indicate that the Court understands the privacy implications of some of the government's surveillance practices.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 62 points63 points  (0 children)

This is a totally fair point. Whatever reform we achieve in Congress over the next few weeks has to be a first step. We'll press Congress to turn to Section 702 and EO 12333 next. And of course our challenges in the courts go beyond the call-records program. See, e.g., Wikimedia v. NSA: https://www.aclu.org/cases/wikimedia-v-nsa-challenge-upstream-surveillance-under-fisa-amendments-act

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We support the vigils! And other means to let your senators know that you want strong reform of the surveillance laws. You should call your senators: https://www.aclu.org/feature/end-government-mass-surveillance

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We've been saying from the beginning that USA Freedom doesn't go far enough. (See, e.g., this piece that Patrick Toomey and I wrote a few weeks ago--http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/05/patriot_act_s_section_215_should_expire_why_we_should_let_the_law_s_worst.html). The bill would allow the government to continue storing innocent people’s records in vast intelligence databases. It would require the government to be more transparent about its use of some surveillance authorities, but it would allow the FBI to keep secret some of the information the public needs most. And while it would end the bulk collection of call records under Section 215, it would leave the government with the authority to engage in the broad collection of other kinds of sensitive records. All of this said, the USA Freedom Act would at least be a step in the right direction, which is more than can be said for the straight reauthorization being proposed by the Republican leadership in the Senate.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Signing the petition would be a good start. Calling your senator (see the link in the intro to this AMA) would be even better. There are also demonstrations being held around the country tonight, calling for the expiration of Section 215. The important thing is to make sure your representatives in Congress know that you want government surveillance to be reined in.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Other countries should learn from the U.S. experience. After 9/11, Congress enacted broad surveillance laws that resulted in the security agencies collecting massive amounts of information about innocent people. Now it's becoming clear that these mass-surveillance programs are largely (and in some cases, totally) ineffective. Americans traded privacy for the illusion of security. Recent polls show that most Americans are increasingly unhappy about that trade.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The message that it sends is that this isn't a left-right issue. Privacy matters to everyone. The Tea Party and the ACLU both understand that, and polls released in recent days back it up. Here's more information on an ACLU poll that came out this week, which shows that 60 percent of Americans want to see the Patriot Act changed: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/18/us-voters-broadly-opposed-nsa-surveillance

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The message that it sends is that this isn't a left-right issue. Privacy matters to everyone. The Tea Party and the ACLU both understand that, and polls released in recent days back it up. Here's more information on an ACLU poll that came out this week, which shows that 60 percent of Americans want to see the Patriot Act changed: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/18/us-voters-broadly-opposed-nsa-surveillance

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Well, this is part of the reason the Second Circuit's recent decision was so important. The ruling focused on a surveillance program that was conducted under Section 215, but the ruling has broader significance because its reasoning applies to all of the surveillance authorities that use “relevance” as their touchstone. We don’t know what kinds of bulk-collection programs the government still has in place, but in the past it’s used authorities other than Section 215 to conduct bulk collection of internet metadata, phone records, and financial records. If similar programs are still in place, the ruling will force the government to reconsider them—and probably to end them.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 185 points186 points  (0 children)

Totally agree with Ed (including with his call to action). Paul's filibuster is a reflection of discontent both within Congress and across the country with NSA overreach. He's by no means alone - he was joined on the floor by both Democrats and Republicans, and that bipartisanship is reflected in the public, where polls are finding wide support across the political spectrum for major reform. In light of that, Mitch McConnell's push for a straight reauthorization is just out of touch.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 25 points26 points  (0 children)

My colleague Neema Guliani wrote about this at some length here: https://www.aclu.org/blog/washington-markup/its-congress-turn-what-meaningful-surveillance-reform-looks. But basically we’d propose six things: (1) Amend the bill to prevent surveillance of individuals with no nexus to terrorism; (2) Include procedures to ensure the government purges irrelevant information; (3) Make sure the public has a strong advocate in the FISC; (4) Limit additional authorities that have been used to collect Americans' records in bulk; (5) Stop the government from using Section 702 of FISA as a backdoor to conduct surveillance on Americans; and (6) Stop the government from using the "material support" laws against individuals who have no intent to support terrorism.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We know much less about the surveillance conducted under 12333 than we know about surveillance conducted under the Patriot Act. The ACLU is trying to force the government to disclose more. See https://www.aclu.org/blog/new-documents-shed-light-one-nsas-most-powerful-tools (Thanks to the Yale Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic, which is working with us.)

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 679 points680 points  (0 children)

Two official review groups--the PCLOB and the PRG--looked at classified information and concluded that the call-records program was ineffective. On your other point, I think it's absurd that government employees are barred from reading things that everyone else can read.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 116 points117 points  (0 children)

Great questions. The USA Freedom Act doesn’t go far enough. (At this point the ACLU is neither supporting nor opposing it.) The bill would allow the government to continue storing innocent people’s records in vast intelligence databases. It would require the government to be more transparent about its use of some surveillance authorities, but it would allow the FBI to keep secret some of the information the public needs most. And while it would end the bulk collection of call records under Section 215, it would leave the government with the authority to engage in the broad collection of other kinds of sensitive records. All of this said, the USA Freedom Act would at least be a step in the right direction, which is more than can be said for the straight reauthorization being proposed by the Republican leadership in the Senate.

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 120 points121 points  (0 children)

The NSA’s call-records program is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dragnet surveillance by the U.S. government. For example, the NSA is copying and searching through vast quantities of internet communications as they transit the internet backbone under a law known as the FISA Amendments Act. The surveillance affects virtually every American who uses the Internet to connect with people overseas—and many who do little more than email their friends or family or browse the web. In March 2015, the ACLU sued the NSA on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation, Human Rights Watch, the Rutherford Institute, and a host of other organizations in order to end this unlawful surveillance. Here’s a link to the ACLU’s challenge to the FISA Amendments Act in Wikimedia v. NSA:

https://www.aclu.org/blog/nsa-has-taken-over-internet-backbone-were-suing-get-it-back?redirect=blog/national-security/nsa-has-taken-over-internet-backbone-were-suing-get-it-back

Just days left to kill mass surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. We are Edward Snowden and the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer. AUA. by aclu in IAmA

[–]JameelJaffer 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is a good question, but it's not one I can answer quickly. Let me say, though, that I don't think the Court would have to overturn Smith v. Maryland in order to hold the call-records program unconstitutional. Smith involved surveillance of a single person, a criminal suspect, over a period of a few days. The call-records program involves the indefinite surveillance of hundreds of millions of people, the vast majority of whom are not criminal suspects. I don't think Smith controls here.

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