US Senate Backs Extension of FISA Bill for Spying on Foreigners Abroad - Sullivan
© AP Photo / Andrew HarnikWhite House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington
![White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.04.2024](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/0a/1107310077_0:0:3071:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_3f4278b745c17f5d8db09d4640f0dd3f.jpg)
© AP Photo / Andrew Harnik
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US Senate has endorsed a bill to reform and extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which authorizes electronic surveillance of foreigners outside the United States, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday.
This section of the law expired on April 19. On Tuesday, the bill was supported by the House of Representatives, which extended the law for two years instead of five as originally intended. At the same time, it rejected an amendment that would have required intelligence agencies to receive a warrant to access information on US citizens obtained in the course of surveillance of foreigners.
US government’s controversial spy program to stay on until 2026
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) April 20, 2024
The US Senate has voted to extend a spy program that allows the government to conduct surveillance on foreign citizens through “electronic communications service providers” (ECSP) such as phone and email providers.… pic.twitter.com/ifZDVubp7K
"We applaud the Senate’s passage of H.R. 7888, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act ... The President will swiftly sign the bill into law," Sullivan said in a statement issued by the White House.
FISA Section 702 permits the US government to conduct targeted surveillance of foreign persons located outside the US. However, lawmakers have been pursuing reforms to the authority, after an investigation revealed that the US government abused the surveillance power hundreds of thousands of times.