This Week in Civil Liberties (9/14/2012)

http://www.aclu.org/blog/organization-news-and-highlights/week-civil-liberties-9142012

https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu/issues/alert/?alertid=61359346&type=CO?s_src=UNW120001C00&ms=web__bor

House Reauthorizes Warrantless Wiretapping Program

This week, the House of Representatives passed a reauthorization of the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, an unconstitutional domestic spying law that gives vast, unchecked surveillance authority to the government. The lawauthorizes the National Security Agency to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans’ international emails and phone calls.

The Senate is expected to take up the law’s reauthorization later this year. Act now to tell the Senate that you’re counting on them to uphold the Constitution, and fix FISA (second link above)!

Email Privacy Faces a Key Test Next Week

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced this week he will bring legislation before the committee requiring law enforcement to use a probable-cause warrant to access all non-public Internet communications such as email. This legislation is a key piece of efforts to reform the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), first passed in 1986 and not substantially updated since.