An attempt to reauthorize Section 702, the so-called crown jewel of US spy powers, failed for a third time in the House of Representatives after former president Donald Trump criticized the law.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/15183880

Well it wasn’t just Trump loyalists; it was 19 Republicans in the Freedom Caucus (who are indeed Trump loyalists) and almost all the Democrats voting agains bringing the current bill to the floor. Now what?

“Congressional sources tell WIRED they have no idea what the next steps will be.”

Oh.

  • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
    27·
    8 months ago

    I have never been so conflicted about a news story

    Like hey hooray, congress did something good!

    Wait

    Wait

    Did they?

    • GuerillaGorillas@lemmy.world
      12·
      8 months ago

      The framing of it is odd when it was just 19 Republicans making up the 228 no votes largely by Democrats. I get that they were probably just motivated by Trump’s social media ramblings but it seems like this was a Democrat win for privacy rights.

      • Beemo Dinosaurierfuß@feddit.de
        5·
        8 months ago

        I don’t think that applies here.

        The democrats oppose this spy tool because it is badly regulated and prone to abuse.
        The Trump loyalists oppose this spy tool because it may expose some of Trumps crimes and treason.

    • The Nexus of Privacy@lemmy.sdf.orgOP
      1·
      8 months ago

      They did – FISA shouldn’t be extended without reforms. All the scare tactics about how “oh noes national security is at risk if FISA isn’t extended!!!” are garbage; if Section 702 lapses, existing certifications are already approved for the next year, and the government has other authorities it can do the same kind of surveillance with.

      As Howie Klein says on Down With Tyranny FISA Was Always Bad Legislation… It’s Still Bad Even If Trump And MAGA Suddenly Oppose It Too