As DHS's crackdown on protesters who object to police violence spreads, Congress has a chance to make a real difference, by limiting the powers of this and future presidents.
Tired of police state overreach? Sign our petition to stop the revival of the PATRIOT Act today!
The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution bars the federal government from authorizing a surveillance dragnet of all US persons, or collecting your internet search and browsing history without a proper warrant showing probable cause of your involvement in a crime. Unfortunately, every President since 9/11 has used the PATRIOT Act to do exactly that.
Earlier this year, key PATRIOT Act powers lapsed. House reformers insisted that a bill reviving them should categorically bar the FBI from incidentally gathering internet search and browsing history of US persons without a warrant, and that that protection should also extend to visa holders and asylum seekers in the United States; Rep. Adam Schiff and Rep. Nancy Pelosi would not agree.
We're expecting House and Senate leadership to bring these powers back for renewal in the fall or after the election, trusting that a President Biden would abuse them less. But we don't trust either Trump or Biden with these powers, and believe they should stay lapsed whoever is in office.
