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Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702: The Good, The Bad, and a Proposal to Make it Less Ugly
Kevin Burns
Note

  The full text of this Note may be found here.

34 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 689 (2024).

Note by Kevin Burns*

 

ABSTRACT

 

[S]

ection 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“FISA”) has been controversial since its inception. Created to allow intelligence collection against targeted foreign persons, electronic surveillance under Section 702 casts a wide net, often capturing communications sent to or by United States persons. Opponents point to the invasion of privacy such collection presents, and to the well-documented abuse and biased use of Section 702 data against U.S. citizens. This Note argues that despite this, Section 702 is a vital tool in the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking and the case against Section 702 is weaker than it appears. This Note offers a minor revision to Section 702 that would address many of the privacy concerns found in Section 702 while preserving the ability of the intelligence agencies to effectively use the collected data.

 

* J.D. Candidate, Class of 2024, Fordham University School of Law; United States Navy, Submarine Officer, 2015–2021; Bachelor of Science, Cornell University, 2015. The views and opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect the views of Fordham University or any other institution. I would like to thank Professor Karen J. Greenberg and the Center on National Security at Fordham Law as well as Professor Thomas H. Lee for their guidance and inspiration; the editors and staff of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal—in particular the Editor-in-Chief, Kayleigh Ristuben and the Managing Editor, Coleman Strine; and my biggest supporter Kathleen Hickes, without whom none of this would be possible.