House Judiciary Committee set to examine key provision of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing, set for Mar. 1, to examine Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a provision that allows government entities to collect the communications of foreign terrorist seeking to harm the United States.

The committee said the hearing was necessary due to the provision expiring at the end of the year. Federal courts, along with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, have expressed concerns that the provision does not do enough to ensure the protection of U.S. citizen’s privacy rights.

While Section 702 allows for data collection on suspected foreign terrorists, it explicitly forbids the government from targeting any U.S. citizen. The National Security Agency (NSA) has said the provision is an important legal tool to disrupt potential terrorist attacks.

“With Section 702 set to expire at the end of the year, the House Judiciary Committee will work in a bipartisan fashion to reauthorize and reform this intelligence gathering program to ensure that it continues to be a critical tool to thwart terrorist attacks and that it best protects Americans’ civil liberties,” U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said.

The committee said the first portion of the examination is classified and will not be open to the public. Witnesses for the closed-door hearing will consist of officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the NSA, and the Department of Justice.