Amid heightened criticisms of the FISA process, several surveillance authorities are scheduled to sunset on March 15, 2020. The expiring provisions include Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which the National Security Agency relied on for years to collect Americans' call records in bulk.
That program was reformed in the aftermath of disclosures by Edward Snowden, but compliance problems and questions about value and efficacy have persisted, reportedly leading the NSA to suspend the program entirely. Now, as the sunset date approaches, reforms to Section 215 as well as other provisions of FISA are on the table.
This webinar provides an introduction to the FISA surveillance authorities scheduled to sunset on March 15, an overview of the FISA reform proposals at the center of the current public debate, and a discussion of the potential impact on privacy, civil liberties, and national security.