White House Recommends Reducing FBI's Powers Under Intelligence Act, Why?

Illustration of the FBI headquarters. (Wikimedia Commons/Aude)

JAKARTA - A White House review on Monday recommended that the FBI's ability to conduct non-national security investigations under a controversial surveillance law be removed, as part of reforms aimed at reinstating the law.

That relates to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the US Government to collect digital communications of foreigners located outside the United States.

The law expires at the end of this year unless it is passed again, while several lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, are calling for sweeping reforms over fears that Section 702 is being used against Americans.

"If Congress fails to re-enact Section 702, history will probably characterize Section 702's loss of authority as one of the worst intelligence failures of our time," concluded the review, conducted for the White House by the President's Intelligence Advisory Council.

The 42-page report further said changes were needed, in part because a 2021 Justice Department audit into the FBI's use of Section 702 found some of the questions inappropriate included individuals arrested during the January 6 storming of Capitol Hill by supporters of then President Donald Trump.

The review recommended that Attorney General Merrick Garland "remove the FBI's authority to search for evidence of crimes unrelated to national security in Section 702 files."

"The FBI's use of Section 702 should be limited to foreign intelligence purposes only and FBI personnel should receive additional training in what is foreign intelligence," the review said.

The review found, while there were no examples of the FBI knowingly abusing Section 702, "the behavior of the FBI continues to undermine the public's confidence in its ability to use Section 702 for its purposes."

The White House review release was accompanied by statements from two of President Joe Biden's national security aides, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his deputy, Jon Finer, who said reinstating Section 702 was necessary to counter threats from abroad.