Wyden objects to the bill over an expansion of the FBI's ability to obtain email and Internet records Credit: unknown A U.S. senator has stalled an intelligence budget bill over concerns that it would expand surveillance while limiting oversight of it. Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, has placed a hold on the 2017 Intelligence Authorization Act, saying the bill would allow the FBI, without a court order, to demand U.S. residents’ email and Internet records from ISPs and other communications providers. The bill would allow the FBI to obtain new records through the controversial National Security Letter program, which allows the FBI to collect phone and financial records through administrative subpoenas. The FBI has said it would be “convenient” if the NSL program could be expanded to include email and Internet records, Wyden said on the Senate floor Monday. “But convenience alone does not justify such a dramatic erosion of Americans’ constitutional rights,” he added. The FBI can go to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to get orders for Internet records, noted Wyden, a long-time critic of U.S. government surveillance efforts. “I certainly appreciate the FBI’s interest in obtaining records about potential suspects quickly,” he said. “But Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges are very capable of reviewing and approving requests for court orders in a timely fashion.” Representatives of the FBI and Senator Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican and chief sponsor of the intelligence bill, didn’t immediately respond requests for comments on Wyden’s hold. Senate rules allow senators to use parliamentary procedure to place a hold on bills and prevent them from coming up for a vote. In addition to the concerns about the NSL program, Wyden objected to provisions in the intelligence bill that would “erode” the power of the independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) to investigate U.S. surveillance practices. Provisions in the bill would end the PCLOB’s oversight of the privacy impact of surveillance programs to people living outside the U.S. Right now, the board has jurisdiction to investigate the privacy impact of surveillance on both U.S. residents and people living outside the country. The limit on the PCLOB’s jurisdiction is “concerning because in the digital domain individuals’ U.S. or non-U.S. status is not always readily apparent, and restricting the board in this way could discourage or even prevent the board from examining programs whose impact on U.S. persons is not clear at first glance,” Wyden said. The PCLOB was created after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations of widespread surveillance practices. Related content news Fortinet grabs cloud security player Lacework Fortinet will integrate Lacework's technology across its secure access service edge (SASE) and Security Fabric packages. By Michael Cooney Jun 10, 2024 3 mins Remote Access Security Cloud Computing news Cisco steps up full-stack observability play with Splunk tie-ins Work has already begun to integrate Splunk, AppDynamics, and ThousandEyes as Cisco strengthens its observability lineup. By Michael Cooney Jun 07, 2024 5 mins Network Management Software Networking how-to Converting between uppercase and lowercase on the Linux command line Converting text between uppercase and lowercase can be very tedious, especially when you want to avoid inadvertent misspellings. Fortunately, Linux provides a handful of commands that can make the job very easy. By Sandra Henry Stocker Jun 07, 2024 5 mins Linux news Network jobs watch: Hiring, skills and certification trends What IT leaders need to know about expanding responsibilities, new titles and hot skills for network professionals and I&O teams. By Denise Dubie Jun 06, 2024 12 mins Careers Data Center Networking PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe