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For those interested, I highly recommend The Lawfare podcast episodes wherein "Members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board discuss their recent report on FISA Sec. 702."

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-lawfare-podcast-par...

Direct link to the PCLOB report: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23993279/2023-pclob-7...

> “There are some red lines. And one of those red lines is the operationally unworkable and fundamentally inept requirement to go to a court before accessing already lawfully collected information…

What a pathetic attempt at weasel language. Are they saying it would be better to make collecting it in the first place illegal? Great suggestion!

They continue:

> "This is something we think is both the wrong fit for what we’re doing, and operationally unworkable,”

That is the point - They've been caught doing things they shouldn't be, so this bill makes being naughty "operationally unworkable".

> “For us, it remains a red line not to have to go to a court and lose the operational window to stop an assassination attempt to prevent ransomware, to stop a senior government official’s email account from being hacked.”

At this point these powers in hands that have proven themselves to be untrustworthy are scarier than any bogeyman they could conjure. Try again.

Seems like what lawmakers really want is to maintain a convenient checkvalve for parallel construction.
> what lawmakers really want is to maintain a convenient checkvalve for parallel construction

Lawmakers are keeping the warrant requirement. It's the administration pushing back.

It sounds like they're _introducing_ the warrant requirement, rather than keeping it. No court warrant was needed prior to this proposed law.
Funny how I can't get lawfully collected bodycam recordings (public domain in my state) without mass redactions trying to hide the police officer's incompetence.
I think so much illegal surveillance has been outsourced to the somewhat-private sector, which is so widely abused, that the only obstacle is a plausible explanation that the information could have been obtained lawfully. All disappointing but not shocking.
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If these are FISA warrants, the whole thing is meaningless. The FISA court is truly a rubber stamp.

”During the 25 years from 1979 to 2004, 18,742 warrants were granted, while only four were rejected.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Foreign_Intell...

Just having to go in front of a judge is a chilling effect.

And IMO that chilling effect is exactly the first step that we need. That keeps the worst of the worst from even making it across the line.

Now, there's a lot more that we also need, but this is a necessary first step.