Tell Congress: Don’t let the government spy on our Internet activity without a warrant!
Update: sometimes activism works! There was enough opposition in the House that leadership withdrew the bill before a vote. Thanks to everybody for the hard work here!
Now it’s in a House/Senate negotiating committee. Once they come up with something, there will be more votes, so stay tuned for more.
The House will be voting Wednesday on H.R. 6172, legislation to reform several aspects of the PATRIOT Act. But will the government still be able to spy on internet activity without requiring a warrant?
80+ organizations across the political spectrum, including Indivisible, ACLU, MediaJustice and CAIR, as well as tech companies including Microsoft and Amazon, agree that the government should need a warrant.
But the House won’t get to vote on Wyden/Daines. instead, they’re voting on the Lofgren/Davidson amendment, which does not provide strong protections — even Lofgren suggested voting on Wyden/Daines instead.
So now’s a crucial time to call your representatives, and ask them to
- OPPOSE the Lofgren-Davidson amendment to H.R. 6172, the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020
- OPPOSE the underlying bill
You can call the US Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224–3121 and they’ll connect you. Other options are emailing or using Resistbot. If you’re not sure who your representative is, you can find out here.
Here’s a sample script:
I am [NAME], from [CITY and STATE], and am urging you to STRENGTHEN the Lofgren/Davidson amendment on H.R. 6172, the USA Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2020. The amendment must prevent the FBI from using Section 215 of the Patriot Act to get internet browsing history unless federal agents can “guarantee” Americans’ internet records are not included. These protections should apply to all U.S. residents. Please also OPPOSE ANY ATTEMPTS TO WEAKEN the legislation, and please vote NO on H.R. 6172 if it is weakened or the Lofgren/Davidson amendment does not pass.
