President Obama has agreed to renew a controversial spy measure over objections from critics — including many in his own party — who say it seriously threatens Americans’ privacy and constitutional rights.
The president signed a bill Sunday that would extend by five years the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The Senate passed the bill Friday on a bipartisan vote of 73-23; the House easily cleared the measure earlier this year.
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FISA was established in 1978 and allows U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct physical and electronic surveillance of foreign terrorism suspects overseas. Americans can get swept up in an investigation if officials think they are in contact with a terrorism suspect.
Several provisions in the law, which was updated and extended in 2008, were scheduled to expire Tuesday.
The measure says intelligence officials can’t intentionally target a specific American, nor intentionally acquire communications that are “known at the time of acquisition” to be wholly domestic.
But some contend innocent citizens easily can get swept up in such investigations and that their phone calls and emails can be reviewed without a warrant.
