Lawmakers aim to close the NSA's 'backdoor'

A bipartisan duo in the House is hoping to use a defense funding bill to keep the National Security Agency (NSA) from spying on the Internet. Reps Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) are introducing an amendment to the 2015 Defense Appropriations bill that would keep intelligence agencies from using funds to conduct warrantless and “backdoor” searches of US communications.

The amendment would cut off funding for efforts to build security vulnerabilities, or “backdoors,” into US tech products or services that can be used for surveillance, according to a memo from the lawmakers’ offices. The provision would also prevent agencies from searching communications to or from people in the US without a warrant, according to the memo.

While the authority for those searches is aimed at collecting foreign communications, information about US persons can be swept up if one party is based in the US or if the communication is processed or stored in another country. The defense bill will be considered on the House floor imminently.