Introduction by Ryan Goodman:
Should the FBI be allowed to access the content of Americans’ communications–emails, texts and phone calls–without obtaining a judicial warrant? That’s a key question facing Congress, with a looming deadline of April 30th. The question is wrapped up in the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702, which will sunset at the end of ...
The debate over Section 702 reauthorization reveals a classic tension between national security imperatives and civil liberties, framed by the evolving interpretation of the Fourth Amendment in the digital age. Weissmann’s arguments steelman the national security perspective—acknowledging the tool’s utility while proposing reforms to address privacy concerns. His suggestion of a lower-threshold judicial review mechanism (e.g., 2703(d) orders) attempts to bridge the gap between unrestricted acces...