Posted on 05/17/2020 1:48:04 PM PDT by USA Conservative
The US Senate has voted to give law enforcement agencies access to web browsing data without a warrant, dramatically expanding the governments surveillance powers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A bipartisan amendment that would have prohibited law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, from obtaining the web browsing and internet search histories of Americans without a warrant failed to pass in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday by a single vote.
We are talking about the USA Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2020 that would have required authorities to obtain a warrant before gaining access to American internet browsing and search history.
For those that are unaware, key parts of the Patriot Act namely the mass surveillance section is currently unauthorized and needs to be reauthorized by Congress to stay in effect. The current bill under consideration to do that is called the US FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020 and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has snuck in an amendment that would allow the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to seize internet search and browsing history if they claim it is tied to an active investigation. To try and stop this, Senators Wyden and Daines introduced their own amendment that would stop the FBI from being able to get that information without a warrant as makes sense. That amendment needed 60 votes to pass, and only received 59 Wednesday afternoon.
So heres not about being Red or Blue its about our rights and constitution.
Twenty-seven Republicans and 10 Democrats voted against the amendment.
Under Section 215 of the Act, the government can compel phone companies and internet service providers to turn over such data, if it is deemed vaguely relevant to a terrorism or counterespionage case.
In a speech on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, Sen. Wyden questioned whether law-abiding Americans should have to worry about their government looking over their shoulders at all times of the day.
The typical American may think to themselves, Ive got nothing to worry about. Ive done nothing wrong. The government has no reason to suspect me of anything. Why should I worry? Wyden said. Unfortunately, the question is not whether you did anything wrong. The question is whether a government agent believes they have the right to look at your web searches.
In a statement to Gizmodo after the vote, Daines said he would continue pressing for reforms to FISA, saying it is critical to the privacy of all Americans.
The final vote on Wyden-Daines Amendment was 59-37. Sixty ayes were required for it to pass. Members had to be physically present to vote.
Below is a list of senators, by party, who voted against the reform (and those who didnt vote at all):
Republicans (27):
Barrasso, John (R-WY) Blackburn, Marsha (R-TN) Blunt, Roy (R-MO) Boozman, John (R-AR) Burr, Richard (R-NC) Capito, Shelley Moore (R-WV) Collins, Susan M. (R-ME) Cornyn, John (R-TX) Cotton, Tom (R-AR) Fischer, Deb (R-NE) Graham, Lindsey (R-SC) Hyde-Smith, Cindy (R-MS) Inhofe, James M. (R-OK) Johnson, Ron (R-WI) Lankford, James (R-OK) McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) Perdue, David (R-GA) Portman, Rob (R-OH) Roberts, Pat (R-KS) Romney, Mitt (R-UT) Rubio, Marco (R-FL) Shelby, Richard C. (R-AL) Thune, John (R-SD) Tillis, Thom (R-NC) Toomey, Patrick J. (R-PA) Wicker, Roger F. (R-MS) Young, Todd (R-IN)
Democrats (10):
Carper, Thomas R. (D-DE) Casey, Robert P., Jr. (D-PA) Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA) Hassan, Margaret Wood (D-NH) Jones, Doug (D-AL) Kaine, Tim (D-VA) Manchin, Joe, III (D-WV) Shaheen, Jeanne (D-NH) Warner, Mark R. (D-VA) Whitehouse, Sheldon (D-RI)
Four members did not cast votes: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).
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It probably does defy the Constitution, here:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
But the Executive, the Judiciary and Congress have slid down a slippery slope of making the 4th Amendment irrelevant when it comes to national security intelligence. All three branches have usually stood with each other on that slide.
All you need to know about a VPN and more
unreasonable searches and seizures.
Damn straight. They write laws for us but exclude themselves.
Get a good VPN. We’ve learned over the past three years - if not before - that the Feds don’t care if you are committing crimes, if you enter their radar screen they will just make up a crime and do whatever it takes to nail you for it. Don’t make it easier for them.
Like FOIA, count on it.
“Just use a good VPN”
Then you go on the list of those who use a VPN. And you can bet they know the difference between your employers corporate VPN and PIA. Don’t get me wrong, I use a VPN, but I have my eyes open about what that means. What we need is for everyone to use a VPN. But even if the sheeple figure out how to do it, they will drop it as soon as their favorite dancing teddybear site starts blocking VPNs. Like Free Republic does sometimes.
It appears that neither senator from Arizona voted to protect our rights.
Im especially disappointed in Cotton.
Cotton and Blackburn do not make many mistakes.
There probably is something unknown to us going on.
Wait and see what happens before getting too upset.
Ordinarily both have worked hard for conservative causes.
Cotton and Blackburn stuck out to me, too. This does not seem like something they would back. Must be something more to the bill to which this was attached.
A pox on all their houses!
It’s none of their damn business.
“It appears that neither senator from Arizona voted to protect our rights.”
Same in NC but even worse that means alot more D’s voted for our liberty here than R’s.
Inside trader Burr is leaving but Linda needs to go as well.
“E-services werent included in the constitution.”
Neither was cable news for that matter so maybe they shouldn’t be entitled under freedom of the press. :) LOL
How’s a VPN going to help you conceal your browsing history?
And Marsha Blackburn.
Exactly. Something more to this. They are staunch patriots and supporters of Trump.
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