Senate USA Freedom Act Gets Good Reviews

The USA Freedom Act of 2014 was getting a round of applause from stakeholders following its introduction.

"By establishing a panel of advocates to argue before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and requiring it to issue statements about its decisions, the Senate bill strengthens our privacy rights and civil liberties," said Microsoft general counsel and executive VP Brad Smith.

Free Press Action Fund policy director Matt Wood said: “Sen Leahy has taken the important step of crafting a bill that corrects many mistakes in the weakened House measure.”

The Computer & Communications Industry Association agrees the House bill was weak and says the Senate bill would make metadata collection more effective and improve the "checks and balances."

The American Civil Liberties Union says the bill still isn't quite right, but it's getting there.