FC: Privacy hero of the month: Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Wed Jul 02 2003 - 22:00:18 PDT

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    Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2003 18:58:32 -0400
    From: J Plummer <jplummerat_private>
    Subject: NCP: Privacy Hero of the Month: SODA overseers
    
    
    Privacy Hero of the Month:
    SODA overseers
    
    In an era of rapidly accumulating usurpations of privacy by the federal 
    government, the checks and balances of the constitutional system set up by 
    the nation's founders should play an increasingly important role. One group 
    of Congressmen is trying to check up on the new surveillance state by 
    exercising some oversight over the executive powers granted by the PATRIOT 
    Act and other legislation. Their would-be vehicle to do so is called The 
    Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act 
    (SODA).  <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:h.r.2429:>
    
    SODA, introduced by Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel and cosponsored by 20 other 
    legislators, would require the Justice Department to report to Congress in 
    greater detail on the secret warrants issued under the Foreign Intelligence 
    Surveillance Act (FISA) in the previous year. As it stands, Justice need 
    only report how many surveillance orders were issued by the FISA court. 
    Under SODA, Justice would have to break down the figures and tell 
    legislators and the public how many FISA orders were issued in each of four 
    categories -- electronic surveillance, physical searches, e-mail pen 
    registers [like caller ID], and access to records. The report would also 
    have to specify how many times information from FISA warants were used in 
    court proceedings.  <http://www.hoeffel.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=6151>
    
    SODA would also require a twice-annual report to Congress' intelligence 
    committees on all requests made for records from public or school 
    libraries. Another report would detail procedures and changes thereto used 
    in the secret FISA court proceedings.
    
    Similar legislation is in play in the US Senate.
    
    Attorney General Ashcroft is now calling for a sequel to the PATRIOT Act, 
    which itself expanded use of secret FISA warrants. A draft of such 
    legislation was leaked during the winter (at the time, Ashcroft 
    ham-handedly denied to Congress such a sequel was in the works). Among the 
    many power grabs are a number of new surveillance powers and creation of 
    federal databases (not to mention granting the Executive branch the ability 
    to unilaterally strip Americans of their citizenship). 
    <http://www.nccprivacy.org/handv/030214villain.htm>
    
    Americans, including Congress, simply do not have the kind of information 
    to evaluate whether givng the feds such a ridiculous amount of additional 
    surveillance powers is warranted. Vastly increased oversight efforts by 
    Hoeffel, his co-sponsors and others in Congress such as Judiciary Chair 
    James Sensenbrenner are necessary so that lawmakers can first reconsider 
    the sweeping new surveillance granted the feds by PATRIOT I, much less the 
    radical proposals of PATRIOT II. All of those fighting for such considered 
    oversight shoiuld be considered this month's Privacy Hero.
    
    ---
    By James Plummer
    
    The Privacy Villain of the Week and Privacy Hero of the Month are projects 
    of the National Consumer Coalition's Privacy Group. Privacy Villain audio 
    features now available from FCF News on Demand. <http://www.fcfnews.com/> 
    For more information on the NCC Privacy Group, see www.nccprivacy.org or 
    contact James Plummer at 202-467-5809 or jplummerat_private .
    
    
    
    
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