White House Board Says Renewal of Controversial Surveillance Program ‘Essential,’ Proposes Reforms

The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board has unanimously recommended the reauthorization of a controversial section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act despite the FBI’s flagrant misuse of the program to target U.S. citizens.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) building in Washington on June 28, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) has unanimously recommended the reauthorization of a controversial section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) despite the FBI’s flagrant misuse of the program to target U.S. citizens.

In a report (pdf) released on July 31, the PIAB recommended more than a dozen reforms to improve the public’s perception of FISA Section 702, a controversial program that authorizes the warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. citizens who are believed to be abroad, although the communications of U.S. citizens are often swept up in the mix.