CDT letter to Senate and House Endorsing USA FREEDOM Act

On October 29, 2013 the Center for Democracy & Technology sent a letter to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Representatives James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and John Conyers, Jr., (D-MI), to signal CDT’s support for the United and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet Collection, and Online Monitoring Act, the “USA FREEDOM” Act. The legislation would restore balance to intelligence surveillance authority by raising the standard for collection of information pursuant to Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act and other intelligence authorities. In addition to raising the standard that applies to intelligence collection, the USA FREEDOM Act would also permit companies to disclose more information about the intelligence surveillance demands they receive, require the government to make such disclosures, close the “backdoor search loophole,” and add a Constitutional Advocate to FISA Court proceedings.