The House blocks vote on expanding warrantless wiretapping authority
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The House has blocked a vote on the reauthorization of a controversial surveillance program that is set to expire in nine days. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which will sunset on April 19th, lets US intelligence agencies spy on foreign communications without a warrant — sometimes ensnaring US citizens as well.
Previous negotiations over the FISA reauthorization grew so heated that in February, House Speaker Mike Johnson withdrew the bill from consideration. At issue were provisions intended to protect Americans’ privacy: one prohibiting data brokers from selling consumer data to law enforcement and another requiring a warrant to search Americans’ data. These amendments are not in the latest version of the bill,…