FISA: FBI also wants to continue spying on US citizens

The Deputy Director of the FBI, Paul Abbate, has poured water on the mills of critics of a US program for mass surveillance. On April 20, the US Congress extended the controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by two years after fierce disputes and added a "Stasi paragraph" to it. On the same day, Abbate appealed to FBI agents to continue spying on US citizens without a warrant on the basis of this article in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. "This is an insult to everyone who cares about accountability, civil liberties and our ability to have a private conversation online," rages the US civil liberties organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "It also raises the question of whether the FBI is interested in protecting us." Apparently, the FBI is only interested in justifying its expanded powers.

In 2021 alone, the FBI searched data up to 3.4 million times on the basis of Section 702 in order to inspect the communications of US citizens. These surveillance measures repeatedly lead to errors and overstepping of authority. The searches were also directed against protesters, donors and advertisers. The new bone of contention is now Abbate's request to all employees to "continue to look for opportunities to appropriately use requests on US persons to advance the mission". The US magazine Wired got its hands on an email to this effect. The FBI vice-president was confident that a newly introduced "pre-approval requirement" would help "ensure that these requests are fully compliant with the law".

FBI spokesman: Email has been completely misunderstood

"To continue to show why tools like this are essential to our mission, we must use them," Abbate emphasized, according to the report. At the same time, the FBI is "responsible for ensuring that we do so properly and in accordance with legal requirements". The email indicates "that the FBI is actively pushing for increased surveillance of Americans", stated US Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, a member of the Democratic Party from California. And apparently "not out of necessity, but as a standard". This directly contradicts earlier claims made by the FBI during the debate on the reauthorization of Article 702.

Abbate's announcement was misunderstood as a plea to break the law, an FBI spokesperson countered. The senior police officer had emphasized "Congress's recognition of the vital importance of FISA Section 702 to the protection of the American people". He aimed to "immediately inform FBI personnel about the changes introduced by the law to improve privacy" and to insist on compliance with the requirements.

(bme)