Tim Starks

For the second time this month, Congress has sent legislation to President Joe Biden that’s designed to keep better track of cybercrime data. The House on March 29 cleared a bill that would direct the Justice Department to collect and measure cybercrime statistics in several ways, such as a mandate for the Bureau of Justice Statistics and US Census Bureau to include questions about cybercrime on the National Crime Victimization Survey, which tallies crimes committed against people 12 and older.

A coalition of nearly 40 privacy and civil liberties groups is demanding changes when lawmakers weigh whether to renew Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which allows for the collection of information about US phone calls and text messages. The provision, and two others that were reauthorized in the 2015 USA Freedom Act following the leaks by former federal contractor Edward Snowden, are slated to expire on Dec. 15 unless lawmakers act.