Typical Government Reform

The Reform Government Surveillance coalition—whose members include Google, Facebook, Microsoft, AOL, Apple, Twitter, LinkedIn, DropBox, and Yahoo—issued a statement Wednesday announcing it was pulling its support of the USA Freedom Act. The legislation would take the storage of phone records out of government hands and keep them with phone companies.

But newly amended language in the bill has "moved in the wrong direction" of true surveillance reforms, the tech companies said.

"The latest draft opens up an unacceptable loophole that could enable the bulk collection of Internet users' data," the coalition said. "While it makes important progress, we cannot support this bill as currently drafted and urge Congress to close this loophole to ensure meaningful reform."

The loophole referred to is the Freedom Act's definition of a "specific selection term," which underwent changes in the newest version of the bill released this week. Earlier drafts, including the one passed two weeks ago by the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, defined selectors as "a person, account or entity." But the new language—which adds words like "address and "device" and the non-limiting term "such as"—is seen as more broad.

  National Journal

”Such as” is appropriate wording in a law??? That’s not a loophole, that’s freeway access.

Several privacy groups have already revolted against the bill, citing similar concerns with the new language. Harley Geiger, senior counsel with the Center for Democracy & Technology, said the bill would allow for "an unacceptable level of surveillance."

Just like they made Bush’s torture and warrantless wiretapping programs legal after the fact.

The House on Thursday passed the most sweeping changes to the country’s intelligence operations in over a decade, voting to limit the National Security Agency’s ability to snoop on communications. The USA Freedom Act, which passed 303-121, had run into opposition from some of the NSA's biggest critics, who warned that the legislation had been gutted in recent weeks. Fifty-one Republicans and 70 Democrats voted against the bill.

[...]

Now the bill heads to the Senate, where Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has pledged to take it up this summer.

Leahy, who authored the Senate version of the bill, and other lawmakers backing reform like Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), have voiced concerns about key measures that were scaled back in the House

[...]

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), another outspoken civil liberties advocate and original cosponsor, voted no. “This morning's bill maintains and codifies a large-scale, unconstitutional domestic spying program,” he wrote in a post on Facebook.

  The Hill

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.