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Article

13 Mar 2020

Author:
Human Rights Watch

Commentary: US Congress should pass legislation to end bulk metadata collection and mass surveillance

"US: End Bulk Data Collection Program", 5 March 2020

The United States Congress should swiftly pass the Safeguarding American’s Private Records Act of 2020 (SAPRA) to end bulk data collection and improve transparency and oversight of surveillance in the US... The bill would end the bulk collection of US phone metadata by intelligence agencies... [currently] chilling freedom of expression and association. "Congress should put an end to mass phone metadata collection,” said Kian Vesteinsson, senior law and tech policy officer at Human Rights Watch. “Though the Safeguarding American’s Private Records Act of 2020 could do more to safeguard rights, the bill as written will greatly improve privacy protections for millions of people.”...[SAPRA]...would limit... surveillance to counterterrorism and foreign intelligence investigations and restrict the use of evidence produced... to criminal proceedings related only to national security... SAPRA would prohibit... collect[ion of] certain forms of location data, internet browsing history, and search history, as well as any information that would normally require a warrant... “Any bill ending bulk metadata collection should include reforms to strengthen transparency and oversight of other potentially rights-abusing interpretations of Section 215,” Vesteinsson said. “Congress should pass the Safeguarding American’s Private Records Act of 2020 to permanently end phone metadata collection under the Patriot Act and safeguard rights in the US.”