Mitch McConnell Moves to Allow Warrantless Collection of Browsing&Search History | Hacker News Reader

Mitch McConnell Moves to Allow Warrantless Collection of Browsing&Search History

thedailybeast.com

96 pointsIfOnlyYouKnew14 comments

> Section 215 of the 2001 Patriot Act mandates records providers turn over “tangible things” “relevant” to an ongoing investigation–which McConnell’s amendment would extend to web-browsing and search-history records

This is the strong issue I have with passing regulations when people are afraid and weak because of a short and near term disruption.

The ability to think logically and clearly is impacted during such times and paranoia kick in.

The 2001 Patriot Act is now 20 years old.

It was meant to be temporary but children were born when it was passed and are past the age of drinking for how long it has carried over.

The SARS-COV2 is leading us down the same road of employing invasive tracking and surveillance in the viel of "good for people"!

Osama is dead a long time. His legacy lives on! He won. We lost.

It does not have to be that way.

Don't just wait for it to expire - repeal it!

> “Under the McConnell amendment, Barr gets to look through the web browsing history of any American—including journalists, politicians, and political rivals—without a warrant, just by saying it is relevant to an investigation,” said Wyden, who has been trying to ban warrantless surveillance on such records.

Unacceptable!

Vote and rally against this.

Please. I am surprised every-time I have to make an argument for individual freedom - it's one thing that can be lost so easily never to be ever gained again.

I don't have much hope of Congress acting responsibly. At least the past 3 presidents haven't encouraged following constitutional procedures. Clearly Justin Amash shines here - pretty much the only congressperson to very clearly call for Congress to eschew party commands and become a body of debate and discourse for representing the American people.

Right now it's a pipeline for captive congresspeople to vote however the party leadership decides (usually by the direction of the sitting president). It's madness.

> I don't have much hope of Congress acting responsibly. At least the past 3 presidents haven't encouraged following constitutional procedures

I completely get where you are coming from but in this sentence I am getting the sense that "someone out there" will make things right and we just have to "complain enough" to get their attention.

NO.

I don't think so.

You and I have to take the action.

There's no angel looking out for us. Elbow grease and blood.

Constitutional procedures not being followed?

Take them to court!

It's more work than hoping and praying but that's how this country was founded.

On action.

Well put. Far too many people have fallen prey to learned helplessness in the US.

We have to change the government ourselves, no one else can or will.

I think the only way to reform Congress is through voting and (indirectly) through changing minds. Even though Biden, Bernie and Trump are atrocious candidates - from a certain perspective (I expect most people disagree) they're very similar. I think they're evidence that the establishment parties are on the decline and people recognize that. Congress is a different matter, but in terms of broad indicators of electoral politics - the presidential elections are reflecting a change. Oddly this trends globally, so I think it's related to the leveling of power in communication and news that came with the internet.

> Oddly this trends globally, so I think it's related to the leveling of power in communication and news that came with the internet

An astute observation.

People on HN live in a bubble. That does include myself. We are pretty isolated from reality given the rich life we live.

The person scrubbing floors at the gas station during COVID-19 infections have a very different view of life.

In my bubble, I try my best to gain that view and inject it back here on HN.

> they're very similar.

Amen.

People like you are the reason why I continue commenting on HN.

There's strong distaste for differing opinions on here but input like yours make all the hate worth this experience.

PS: We exchanged notes earlier on a health insurance topic here where I was championing for repealing employer provided health insurance which is a vestige from WW2 wage regulation.

> learned helplessness

There's a quote I love:

“When you’re young, you look at television and think, There’s a conspiracy The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not true The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want That’s a far more depressing thought Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution! But the networks are really in business to give people what they want. It’s the truth.”

It’s not the first time they’ve tried.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-w...

Which Congresspeople have stood up in support of repealing the PATRIOT Act? It's been 2 decades years; time to sunset it.

The Republicans regurlarly vote no to the Patriot act. There is no need to repeal it because it expired earlier this year. The democrats tried to renew it but it failed. And then covid happened. I don't have any idea how NSA handles the expiration of the act, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even notice or care.

Where do you get the idea that Republicans are against the Patriot Act? A majority of them vote to reauthorize it every time it comes up. Yes, some Democrats like Feinstein are for it, too, but that doesn’t mean they all are. https://twitter.com/SenateGOP/status/1261002222772551681

Ok, let's see McConnell's history.

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