FBI director asks Congress to renew foreign surveillance law

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray about renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Congress added Section 702 in 2008, granting federal agencies more powers to survey foreign targets that threaten national security. The Biden administration has pleaded with Congress to renew the section. Wray said it was an essential tool for keeping up with foreign adversaries.

Why does this need to be renewed? Section 702 does not grant the intelligence community permanent powers to survey foreign nationals. Instead, it grants federal agencies like the FBI temporary abilities that have to be renewed. Some members of Congress have said they’re concerned the law could be used to surveil, without warrants, Americans communicating with individuals outside the United States.

Dig deeper: Read Emma Freire’s report in WORLD Magazine about how the FBI has become a political weapon in the years after 9/11.