"Privacy Watchdog Calls for Enhanced Surveillance Law Limits and Warrant Requirements"

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent watchdog agency, has unanimously recommended that Congress reauthorize an expiring law known as Section 702, which allows warrantless surveillance of targeted foreigners even when they are communicating with or about Americans. However, the board members are divided along party lines on whether court permission should be required before analysts can deliberately view Americans' intercepted communications. The report highlights the value of Section 702 in countering foreign threats but also acknowledges the risks to privacy and civil liberties. The fate of the law remains uncertain as it faces opposition from both hard-right Republicans and civil liberties advocates.