While magistrate judges to issue search warrants to law enforcement officials that can apply to any device in the world, if organizations such as the FBI can remotely connect to it. Reuters reports the “Stopping Mass Hacking Attack” bill would effectively reverse this decision, making it so magistrate judges can only produce search orders for a limited number of counties.Along with Wyden and Paul, Reuters reports the bill is co-sponsored by Republican Senator Steve Daines and Democrats Tammy Baldwin and Jon Tester.
“This is a dramatic expansion of the government’s hacking and surveillance authority,” said Wyden. “Such a substantive change with an enormous impact on Americans’ constitutional rights should be debated by Congress, not maneuvered through an obscure bureaucratic process.” Wyden’s office expects companion legislation to reach the House in the near future.
Aside from politicians, the warrant change has also received criticism from civil liberties groups and tech companies, including Google, with many agreeing it should pass through Congress, and that it may also be violating constitutional protections concerning searches and seizures. Groups are also claiming they will be lobbying Congress for the next few months over the matter.
This is the latest bipartisan bill to be introduced to Congress this year that attempts to protect the smartphones, computers, and other devices of US citizens from overzealous law enforcement interference. In February, the ENCRYPT Act was introduced to try and make device security laws cohesive across the US, by preventing other state-level bills that would weaken encryption from having any effect.
