Senate rejects bill to allow FBI warrantless spying

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON (AA) – The Senate on Wednesday fell two votes short of passing an amendment to expand the FBI’s warrantless surveillance powers on electronic transactions.

The measure introduced by Republican Sens. John McCain and Richard Burr to amend the controversial USA Patriot Act was voted 58-38. It needed 60 votes to advance.

The amendment to the bill passed following the Sept. 11, terror attacks would have allowed the FBI to collect electronic information of Americans without a court order, including Internet browsing history, IP addresses and emails.

The sponsors of the measure argued that it would contribute to the surveillance of potential “lone wolf” attackers.

The vote was taken in the wake of a massacre in Orlando, Florida, where a gunman allegedly inspired by Daesh, killed 49 victims at a gay nightclub earlier this month.

“It is disappointing that my colleagues in the Senate voted down our amendment to give law enforcement a counterterrorism authority that the FBI considers its number one priority,” McCain said in a statement following the vote.

Many civil society groups and technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo opposed the proposal.

“The Senate should not respond to the massacre in Orlando by voting to gut Americans’ privacy protections and expand provisions of the Patriot Act that have consistently been abused by the government,” American Civil Liberties Union national political director Karin Johanson said in a statement.