ACLU Calls on Congress to Give FISA a Careful Look

The Protect America Act, also known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is due to expire in February unless Congress re authorizes it. The American Civil Liberties Union is calling on Congress to ensure that the legislation restores the process of judicial review and that it also protects the privacy rights of innocent Americans. The Democratic leaders in Congress have promised that they will take a hard look at the law that the ACLU calls unconstitutional.

The ACLU has laid out a blue print for what they consider to be necessary components of the law, if it is passed:

They state that the government should only be able to obtain the information that it is authorized to by law and it should be given un monitored access to the telecommunications records such as phone records. The telecommunications industry itself should be the ones responsible for collecting the communications that the government is authorized to receive.

Another point they make is that The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) must be in the forefront and play a meaningful role to make sure the government is in compliance with the law.

When a communication that is intended for a person in the United States, The NSA should be required to destroy the communication. There will be exceptions made under certain circumstances, but only with a judicial review and oversight.

If the government has reason to believe that a person who is under surveillance can be expected to have contact with someone in the United States, they should be required to obtain and order from the FISC in order to be able to continue with the surveillance.

They also say that any telecommunications company that has helped the NSA to spy on innocent citizens, should not be given amnesty.

The ACLU feels that if this blueprint is followed, it will protect the privacy rights of any innocent American and it will also make sure that the law is in compliance with the Fourth Amendment. They state that the phone calls and personal records of American citizens have been illegally given to the government.