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IPFS News Link • Surveillance

GOP Chief Is Bailing Out the Surveillance State, Top Democrats Say

• http://www.thedailybeast.com

The Senate's Republican leader is pushing to give the government new authorities to snoop. Some civil libertarians are calling it 'Patriot Act 2.0.'

Just when you thought the fight over government surveillance powers was over, the Senate is poised for another battle, this time over a cyber security law that some civil libertarians have dubbed "Patriot Act 2.0."

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that he would attach a bill aimed at improving U.S. cyber security to a mammoth defense policy bill, rather than let senators vote for the cyber measure on its own. That in and of itself is a risky move, given that the White House has already threatened to veto the defense bill. But it's also raising the hackles of some lawmakers, who see the cyber legislation as an attempt to expand government surveillance of Americans while posing as a move to fight hackers and spies.

"I will be fighting to ensure the Senate has a full debate and a chance to offer amendments to add vital protections for American privacy and address the threats to our cybersecurity," Sen. Ron Wyden said in a statement Tuesday. Wyden, who was the only member of the Senate Intelligence Committee to vote against moving the bill forward to a full vote last March, seemed to leave open the possibility of using filibuster-style tactics to hold up the measure, just like his fellow surveillance opponent, Sen. Rand Paul, used parliamentary procedures to force some surveillance powers under the Patriot Act to expire earlier this month. The Senate voted to reinstate most of them a few days later.


www.universityofreason.com/a/29887/KWADzukm