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 government’s 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 here’s not about being Red or Blue it’s 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, I’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ve 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 didn’t 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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Linda has NO HAT....NO CATTLE....NO MORALS.....NO NOTHING BUT HOT AIR!! He is WORTHLESS!
Really John Cornyn? You traitor.
I was disappointed to see Marsha Blackburn on the list.
I wonder if the bill is being fairly presented?
“unreasonable searches and seizures” -— They consider nothing “unreasonable”.
Where is the Constitutional authority to establish the FBI?
Yeah, I’m waiting for Marsha to explain herself and it had better be good.
Going to be boring for the FBI.
These votes are always ‘pre-arranged’ in a back room before they are cast on the Senate floor.
it is worse than that....what makes you think the people who run the VPN have not been compromised?
“How’s a VPN going to help you conceal your browsing history?”
All of your web traffic gets sent over an encrypted link to a VPN server which can be anywhere in the world, decrypted, and then sent on the internet to it’s destination. Responses travel back to you over the same path. Nobody can see what you are sending or where, just that you sent encrypted data to the server. They can see what the VPN server is sending for you, but that is not much help in profiling your traffic, since they are doing the same thing for thousands and thousands of others. It does make it look like where you are not. I live near Raleigh, but my VPN connection makes Home Depot think I am in Atlanta, or Manhattan, or where ever, so they show me stuff at stores there. Good VPN providers do not keep logs. So if PIA, for example, gets a subpoena for all the data they have on you, all they can tell them is the last time you paid your bill.
If you are using Google, Comcast, etc. as your ISP and do not use a VPN, they are 100% for sure keeping track of what websites you surf, even if due to https they cannot see the exact traffic. If you go to Expedia, they can infer you are traveling somewhere. If you go to proflowers.com, you are buying something for your wife. If you go to FreeRepublic.com, you are a deplorable. They sell this information to whoever will pay.
BTW, have you ever wondered how smart TVs got so cheap? It is because they just break even on the HW. They make their money selling your viewing habits. As reported by your smart TV. Very Smart!
Now, if you are thinking about the history in your web browser, that is up to you. Use a private window. Clear your history and cookies. Continuously. A VPN will not help you with that. HTH.
“what makes you think the people who run the VPN have not been compromised?”
How do anyone know that anything is not compromised? How do you know that they don’t read you mail, or listen to your phone, or have your house bugged? How do you prove a negative? I do know that PIA has been to court. Sure, maybe it was just a big show. But all they could tell them is the date of the last payment. For $36/yr, I will take that.
there are NO secrets.....
That’s why I’m so disappointed in them.
browser history; freerepublic, naked women, freerepublic, naked celeb women, freerepublic, repeat repeat
And she was simply the First Lady!
The 4th Amendment covers the situation just fine.
The 4th Amendment covers the situation just fine.
I’ve been all in for more than 2-1/2 years, going on 3, ever since the James Damore incident.
Useful:
https://old.reddit.com/r/degoogle/
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