Petition:
https://sendto.mozilla.org/page/s/section-215-petition
Personally Send Petition Text to Your Representative:
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
Recently, comedian John Oliver made an informal but important point on the sheer ridiculousness that is Section 215 of the Patriot Act: the NSA has bended their interpretation of the law to access and monitor the most personal of our everyday communications at a frightening scale.1
But we can put a stop to this illegal and unconstitutional mass surveillance if we get loud this week.
Here's the deal: Congress is back in Washington after a two-week recess, and reauthorization of the Patriot Act is on the agenda. According to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the chamber could take up three key sections of the Patriot Act set to expire in June as early as this month2 — including Section 215.
You better believe that the intelligence agencies are going to do everything they can to ensure these provisions are reauthorized. Can you make a phone call to your representative and ask that they vote against reauthorizing Section 215 of the Patriot Act?
Yes, I can make a call.
No, I can't do that — but I'll chip in $5 or $10 to help Demand Progress end mass spying.
Feeling a sudden sense of déjà vu? While the most questionable provisions of the Patriot Act, like Section 215, were only initially authorized for a fixed number of years, Congress has reauthorized them every single time since passage of the law in 2001.
To add insult to the injury that is invasion of our privacy: according to the White House's own Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, mass surveillance hasn't made a difference in making us safer.3 So why the heck is this even under consideration to be continued?
These phone calls to Congress can really make a difference in putting the pressure on our elected officials to protect our civil liberties once and for all. Can you call your representative today?
Yes, I can make a call.
No, I can't do that — but I'll chip in $5 or $10 to help Demand Progress end mass spying.
Thanks for standing with us.
—David, Daniel, Mark, Sara and the rest of the Demand Progress team
