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Cybersecurity & Standards, Government Surveillance, Privacy & Data

What happens to domestic bulk collection if Sec. 215 sunsets?

2015-02-03-Sunset-215

Harley Geiger, CDT Senior Counsel, guest wrote for Lawfare, a site published by the Lawfare Institute in cooperation with the Brookings Institute. It’s solely dedicated to “that nebulous zone in which actions taken or contemplated to protect the nation interact with the nation’s laws and legal institutions.” We’ve published the first few paragraphs here – click below for the full text.

What Happens if We #Sunset215?

A law the government cites as authority for the bulk collection of millions of Americans’ communications records—Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act—expires unless Congress extends it by Memorial Day weekend.

The Center for Democracy & Technology, and other public interest groups, believes that Sec. 215 should sunset unless it is reformed to stop nationwide surveillance dragnets. What would happen to domestic bulk collection if Sec. 215 sunsets?

Full text here.