A controversial provision used by the federal government as a backdoor for spying on Americans is up for renewal in April. This time, however, analysts say that the renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 is of even greater stakes thanks to artificial intelligence, which has the potential to supercharge the government’s mass surveillance capabilities as well as the national security priorities laid out by President Donald Trump last year.
In 1978, when Congress originally passed FISA, the act was meant to establish a system of oversight for the U.S.’s foreign surveillance activities, with the bill establishing the FISA court to provide some judicial oversight. In 2008, however, the bill was changed with the passage of Section 702 of FISA, which ostensibly empowered intelligence agencies with the ability to conduct mass surveillance of targeted noncitizens.
