FC: Privacy hero of the month: Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2003 18:58:32 -0400
From: J Plummer <jplummer () consumeralert org>
Subject: NCP: Privacy Hero of the Month: SODA overseers


Privacy Hero of the Month:
SODA overseers

In an era of rapidly accumulating usurpations of privacy by the federal 
government, the checks and balances of the constitutional system set up by 
the nation's founders should play an increasingly important role. One group 
of Congressmen is trying to check up on the new surveillance state by 
exercising some oversight over the executive powers granted by the PATRIOT 
Act and other legislation. Their would-be vehicle to do so is called The 
Surveillance Oversight and Disclosure Act 
(SODA).  <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:h.r.2429:>

SODA, introduced by Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel and cosponsored by 20 other 
legislators, would require the Justice Department to report to Congress in 
greater detail on the secret warrants issued under the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act (FISA) in the previous year. As it stands, Justice need 
only report how many surveillance orders were issued by the FISA court. 
Under SODA, Justice would have to break down the figures and tell 
legislators and the public how many FISA orders were issued in each of four 
categories -- electronic surveillance, physical searches, e-mail pen 
registers [like caller ID], and access to records. The report would also 
have to specify how many times information from FISA warants were used in 
court proceedings.  <http://www.hoeffel.house.gov/issues2.cfm?id=6151>

SODA would also require a twice-annual report to Congress' intelligence 
committees on all requests made for records from public or school 
libraries. Another report would detail procedures and changes thereto used 
in the secret FISA court proceedings.

Similar legislation is in play in the US Senate.

Attorney General Ashcroft is now calling for a sequel to the PATRIOT Act, 
which itself expanded use of secret FISA warrants. A draft of such 
legislation was leaked during the winter (at the time, Ashcroft 
ham-handedly denied to Congress such a sequel was in the works). Among the 
many power grabs are a number of new surveillance powers and creation of 
federal databases (not to mention granting the Executive branch the ability 
to unilaterally strip Americans of their citizenship). 
<http://www.nccprivacy.org/handv/030214villain.htm>

Americans, including Congress, simply do not have the kind of information 
to evaluate whether givng the feds such a ridiculous amount of additional 
surveillance powers is warranted. Vastly increased oversight efforts by 
Hoeffel, his co-sponsors and others in Congress such as Judiciary Chair 
James Sensenbrenner are necessary so that lawmakers can first reconsider 
the sweeping new surveillance granted the feds by PATRIOT I, much less the 
radical proposals of PATRIOT II. All of those fighting for such considered 
oversight shoiuld be considered this month's Privacy Hero.

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By James Plummer

The Privacy Villain of the Week and Privacy Hero of the Month are projects 
of the National Consumer Coalition's Privacy Group. Privacy Villain audio 
features now available from FCF News on Demand. <http://www.fcfnews.com/> 
For more information on the NCC Privacy Group, see www.nccprivacy.org or 
contact James Plummer at 202-467-5809 or jplummer () consumeralert org .




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