Tech Coalition Presses US Government to End Bulk Collection of Metadata

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Microsoft, Google, and Apple among tech companies fighting against provision in the Patriot Act

The collection of metadata by government agencies, such as the National Security Agency, has been a source of contention for tech companies forced to hand over the information in bulk to the US Government. Section 215 of the Patriot Act allows for the bulk collection of metadata but the provision will expire in June unless the government renews it. As the date draws closer, tech companies have joined privacy groups in sending an open letter asking that Section 215 not be renewed in the Patriot Act.
“There must be a clear, strong, and effective end to bulk collection practices under the USA PATRIOT Act, including under the Section 215 records authority and the Section 2 214 authority regarding pen registers and trap & trace devices,” reads the letter, explaining what the groups want. “Any collection that does occur under those authorities should have appropriate safeguards in place to protect privacy and users’ rights.”
The letter goes on to suggest that, “The bill must contain transparency and accountability mechanisms for both government and company reporting, as well as an appropriate declassification regime for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court decisions.
While the various organizations might have differing views on what reforms should be included, the two points quoted above are ones that everyone agrees must be part of the reforms. 47 different industry and privacy organizations have signed the letter that was sent to the Obama administration. One group, called the Reform Government Surveillance, includes members such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, and Apple.
“It has been nearly two years since the first news stories revealed the scope of the United States’ surveillance and bulk collection activities,” the letter concludes. “Now is the time to take on meaningful legislative reforms to the nation’s surveillance programs that maintain national security while preserving privacy, transparency, and accountability. We strongly encourage both the White House and Members of Congress to support the above reforms and oppose any efforts to enact any legislation that does not address them.”
Whether the US government implements such reforms come June will remain to be seen, but the potential outlook doesn’t look promising. Last year, the Obama administration asked Congress to pass new privacy laws proposing that telecom companies hang onto the records and only hand them over to law enforcement agencies when receiving a court order. Nothing came about from the proposal, while Congress itself was unable to reform the surveillance program. In November 2014, Congress was unable to pass The Freedom Act, a bill that would have curbed the NSA’s bulk collection of telephone records.
Do you think the US Government will make changes to the Patriot Act regarding the bulk collection of metadata? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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