I received this in the mail from my Senator, Ron Wyden, who, as some of you know, has been outspoken against the surveillance power the government has taken on since 9/11:
The federal government has a new plan to hack Americans’ computers.
And if Congress doesn’t do something by December 1st, Donald Trump and the FBI will get expansive new hacking powers that will require only one judge to sign one warrant to potentially hack computers all over the world.
I’ve introduced a bill, the Stopping Mass Hacking Act (S.2952), that will stop this change from going through.
And, while it has Republican and Democratic co-sponsors, with our deadlocked Congress, I need your help.
Please, stand with me and sign my petition urging Congress to pass the Stopping Mass Hacking Act!
The Justice Department is using an obscure rule of federal criminal procedure – called Rule 41 – to sneak this expansion through.
The DOJ says it’s just a small change to how judges issue warrants. But this is much more than just a small change.
Right now, when an FBI agent wants to hack computers of potential suspects or innocent victims of malware attacks, it has to get a warrant from a judge where the crime occurred.
That gives government hacking clear judicial oversight to make sure our Fourth Amendment rights aren’t violated and stops the FBI from hacking whomever it wants.
But if the DOJ’s “small change” goes through, the FBI can shop around until it finds the right judge to sign just one warrant to hack any computers related to their case. That could mean hacking millions of computers all over the world with just one warrant.
And Congress hasn’t even held a public hearing to debate this expansion of government hacking and its potential consequences for the American people!
We have mere days to make sure Congress stops the FBI from getting mass hacking powers.
Please, stand with me and sign my petition urging Congress to pass the Stopping Mass Hacking Act!
If enacted, my bill would block the rule change from automatically going through on December 1st.
My bill would give Congress more time to have the public debate the American people deserve before we hand over expansive new hacking powers to the federal government – that would have consequential, unforeseen circumstances.
Some in Congress are saying “let’s wait and see what the FBI does with this new power.”
But do we really trust FBI Director Comey to be honest about how the FBI implements these expansive new hacking powers after he’s lied about his anti-encryption stance to Congress and politicized the FBI this election cycle?
With just two weeks until December 1st, it’s up to us to make sure Congress knows that the American people are demanding action to stop mass hacking.
So I went to senate.gov looking for more info. I got a snip from a discussion in September:
Senator Wyden: (1:07 PM)
- Spoke on the Stopping Mass Hacking Act.
- "The bill is just one sentence long, colleagues. What it does is simple, but in my view, it is extraordinarily important. If the Senate does nothing, if the Senate fails to act, what's ahead for Americans is a massive expansion of government hacking and surveillance powers, and it will take place automatically on December 1 of this year. The legislation that I seek to pass, that has been bipartisan here in the Senate, would stop this expansion, this automatic expansion of government hacking and surveillance powers."
- Unanimous consent –
It certainly seems to me that we need to worry about this — please contact your Senator and tell them to vote against this!! It’s only the beginning, and beginnings are where we need to hold the line!!
Friday, Nov 18, 2016 · 9:27:51 PM +00:00 · CathyM
UPDATED: The Guardian interviewed Wyden, and he had this to say about this piece of legislation (the whole interview is a very good read):
www.theguardian.com/…
...One is to block a measure Wyden said is “still alive in the intelligence authorization” bill that would provide the FBI with powers to scour Americans’ browser history without court oversight. There, his approach is straightforward: “running the clock out” on the current Congress and “scour all these bills” to see it doesn’t get added to any other piece of legislation. But congressional inertia can cut against him as well.
On 1 December, an impending change to the federal rules of criminal procedure will vastly expand law enforcement’s ability to remotely hack suspect electronic devices, unbound by jurisdiction. Opponents have few options, as the change, known as Rule 41, will take effect if Congress “does what it does best – which is nothing”, Wyden said. “We understand our backs are against the wall.” He and his allies, including Democratic senator Chris Coons and GOP senator Mike Lee, are attempting to delay the change.