Washington: With a key law underpinning US bulk surveillance programmes set to expire, the future appears murky for the data sweep led by the National Security Agency.
At midnight tomorrow, barring a last-minute deal in Congress, a key section of the US Patriot Act — used as a legal basis for much of NSA surveillance — will expire or “sunset.”
This would shut down most “bulk collection” efforts by US intelligence and law enforcement, programmes which have sparked outrage since revelations from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
A senior administration official said bulk collection servers would be turned off at 4 pm (2000 GMT) and any collection after midnight would be deemed illegal.
The deadline has led to a frenzy of activity in Congress, seeking a way to keep programmes intact for national security investigations, but the outcome is far from clear.
Earlier this month the House of Representatives passed the USA Freedom Act to rein in NSA authority by ending bulk collection and improving transparency at a secret court which supervises the programme.
But the Senate blocked a vote on the bill and failed to muster enough support for a short-term extension of the law: Section 215 of the Patriot Act.
Some senators offered compromise measures, but it remains unclear if these can garner enough support in the Senate or prompt the House to reconsider its own measure.
Harley Geiger at the Center for Democracy & Technology, which has led a campaign for the USA Freedom Act, said the compromise bills are far weaker in reining in the surveillance.
Geiger said that, if the law expires even for just one day, it may change the dynamic of the vote process because lawmakers would be reinstating surveillance authority and not simply extending existing programs.
“Civil liberties groups are united in opposing anything weaker than the USA Freedom act,” he said.
Members of the House have also warned that they may not accept a different measure from the Senate or extend the existing law.
“If the Senate chooses to allow these authorities to expire, they should do so knowing that sunset may be permanent,” said a statement from leaders of the House Judiciary Committee.
Adding to the confusion is a US appeals court ruling which said the government went beyond the intent of Congress with bulk collection and that the program was illegal.
This means lawmakers must affirm they want a sweeping surveillance effort, which has been fiercely criticized at home and abroad.
Some civil liberties activists welcome the possibility of a “sunset,” saying it is better than a weak reform. AFP
