ACLU Calls for End to Mass Surveillance Two Decades After 9/11
Twenty years after the September 11 attacks, the ACLU urges Congress to end mass government surveillance and enact robust privacy reforms. The civil liberties organization emphasizes that executive agencies still hold too much unchecked power to spy on Americans.
Twenty years after 9/11, the ACLU warns that the government's mass surveillance regime remains pervasive and requires immediate reform. Executive branch agencies currently possess far too much power and discretion when conducting intelligence surveillance, prompting civil liberties advocates to demand concrete legislative action.
The problem originates from the rushed passage of the Patriot Act, which ushered in an era of secret, expansive spying under both the Bush and Obama administrations. Congress consistently yields to executive demands for greater surveillance powers, exemplified by the 2008 enactment of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that authorizes warrantless monitoring of Americans' international communications.
The 2013 Snowden revelations exposed the shocking breadth of these NSA programs to the global public. To protect future generations, the ACLU insists that Congress must mandate targeted surveillance, establish robust judicial oversight, and allow individuals to challenge government spying in court.