Mark Jaycox and Dave Maass write:
The House Judiciary Committee has plans for a “members only” meeting next week to discuss Section 702 of the FISA Amendment Acts, the law the NSA relies on to operate its notorious PRISM surveillance program and to tap into the backbone of the Internet, also known as “upstream” collection.
While we wish that “members only” meant that Congressional watchdogs would all don vintage jackets from the 1980s while reining in the NSA, the sad truth is that our elected representatives are once again cutting out the public from an important debate over mass surveillance.
Today, EFF joined two dozen civil liberties, human rights, and transparency organizations in sending a letter to House Judiciary Leaders demanding that they open the hearing, at least in part, to the public.
Read more on EFF.