Kate Tummarello reports that the House version of the USA Freedom Act has been watered down so much by an amendment that privacy advocates are unhappy:
On Tuesday, Sensenbrenner filed a manager’s amendment at the House Rules Committee to be considered on the floor in place of the bill that passed the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees.
Sensenbrenner’s amendment still prohibits bulk collection but would allow government officials to search for records using “a discrete term, such as a term specifically identifying a person, entity, account, address, or device, used by the Government to limit the scope of the information or tangible things sought.”
While the standard in Sensenbrenner’s amendment is more specific than the one under current law, it leaves too much room for interpretation, as opposed to earlier versions of the bill, Geiger said.
Read more on The Hill.
See also Privacy Hawks Begin Dropping Support For ‘Watered-Down’ NSA Reform Bill on National Journal.
Update: Mike Masnick has a round-up of negative reactions on TechDirt.