How the FBI uses laws to spy on foreign terrorists to spy on you

The FBI searches through databases of foreign communications in a program that Congress created specifically to catch foreign terrorists and spies. But the FBI uses this same program to glean private information about American citizens and our communications. 

These so-called “U.S. person queries” are transforming one of the most powerful and invasive surveillance authorities — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — into a means for FBI agents to spy on Americans without a warrant, gutting the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

Section 702 has become increasingly controversial since its passage in 2008. Congress passed it only to authorize the surveillance of non-Americans outside the United States. It was promoted as an authority designed to counter terrorists. Instead, it is being used in Orwellian ways that make America a little more like Russia or China.