Foreign surveillance bill may not change much

WASHINGTON >> As the Senate nears renewal of a key U.S. spy program, law enforcement veterans and privacy advocates say the bill’s demand for a warrant in some cases when the FBI digs into Americans’ emails and other communications will amount to little more than a nuisance.

The bill’s proponents say the new provision will further safeguard Americans’ communications. But opponents say the warrant requirement would rarely kick in and investigators could find ways to avoid it. The main thrust of the intelligence program, which provides insights into the thinking and actions of U.S. adversaries, is unaffected.

The legislation, approved by the House and now before the Senate, allows the FBI to continue scanning a database of intelligence collected on foreign targets, using search terms, for information on Americans. But it would require investigators to get probable cause warrants to view the actual content in cases unrelated to national security. Exceptions would apply, such as for murder and kidnapping cases. It also would require a warrant only in criminal investigations that are in their final stages.

This isn’t “real reform,” says Elizabeth Goitein with the Brennan Center for Justice. She said that in 2014, the government’s civil liberties watchdog office reported that the FBI routinely conducts these searchers at the very earliest stages of its investigations. The warrant requirement is designed “to have no effect whatsoever,” she said.

The intelligence program expires Friday. The House reauthorized it last week and the Senate is poised to follow suit in the next day or two.