RGS Supports Amendments to the USA FREEDOM Act of 2020

May 8, 2020

“The Reform Government Surveillance coalition (RGS) supports Senators Lee, Leahy, Wyden, and Daines in their efforts to strengthen the role of the amici that appear before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and clarify that a business records request under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act could never be used to obtain browsing and search history information.”

Statement on CSIS’s New Report: Low-Hanging Fruit: Evidence-Based Solutions to the Digital Evidence Challenge

July 25, 2018

The Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) report, Low-Hanging Fruit: Evidence-Based Solutions to the Digital Evidence Challenge, provides thoughtful analysis and a number of practical recommendations to help law enforcement solve crimes in the digital age. As providers of information technology products and services, the members of the Reform Government Surveillance (RGS) coalition are […]

RGS Urges Congress and the President to Act Swiftly on Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Nominations

July 17, 2018

The Reform Government Surveillance coalition (RGS) urges the Senate to act promptly on the nominations of Adam Klein, Ed Felten, and Jane Nitze to be members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). All three of these nominations were reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee by voice vote and are now ready for […]

Statement on Reports of Exceptional Access Proposals

May 1, 2018

Reform Government Surveillance recently announced a new core principle on encryption that will guide our advocacy efforts, and we continue to believe that strong encryption helps protect the security and privacy of individuals and companies around the world. We have consistently raised concerns about proposals that would undermine encryption of devices and services by requiring […]

Statement on the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, H.R. 4478

December 1, 2017

The Reform Government Surveillance coalition has significant concerns with the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017, H.R. 4478, as currently drafted.  Unless changes are made to the bill, Reform Government Surveillance opposes this legislation. Reform Government Surveillance continues to advocate for common sense legislation to reform Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.  While […]

Reform Government Surveillance Statement on the Introduction of the USA Liberty Act, H.R. 3989

October 12, 2017

Reform Government Surveillance commends Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers, and other leaders of the House Judiciary Committee for introducing the bipartisan USA Liberty Act, H.R. 3989.  The USA Liberty Act includes significant improvements to U.S. surveillance law, particularly Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, while preserving the ability of the intelligence community to […]

Reform Government Surveillance Letter to House and Senate Leadership: Lawful Access Priorities for 2017

February 28, 2017

Dear Leader McConnell, Speaker Ryan, Minority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader Pelosi: The Reform Government Surveillance coalition (RGS) writes to share with you our priorities for this Congress with regard to reforming laws that govern when law enforcement and the intelligence community may access user data.  As you shape Congress’ agenda, we look forward to […]

RGS Statement on The Email Privacy Act

January 12, 2017

RGS Statement on The Email Privacy Act   Reform Government Surveillance applauds Reps. Yoder, Polis, Goodlatte, Conyers, and all of the original cosponsors for reintroducing the Email Privacy Act.  The Email Privacy Act is crucial to modernizing our outdated laws – written when cell phones and email were rarely used – and making sure that […]

RGS Statement on US-UK Data Protection Discussions

July 15, 2016

Governments must avoid conflicts of laws to ensure people’s data is protected and avoid a race to the bottom for everyone’s rights; we are encouraged by discussions between the US and UK. A strengthened legal framework must value privacy and human rights while ensuring law enforcement can do its important work. We look forward to continuing discussions with […]

Letter to Chairman Burr and Vice-Chairman Feinstein Regarding Encryption

April 19, 2016

April 19, 2016 The Honorable Richard BurrChairmanSelect Committee on IntelligenceUnited States SenateWashington, DC 20515  The Honorable Dianne FeinsteinVice-ChairmanSelect Committee on IntelligenceUnited States SenateWashington, DC 20515 Dear Chairman Burr and Vice-Chairman Feinstein: We write to express our deep concerns about well-intentioned but ultimately unworkable policies around encryption that would weaken the very defenses we need to […]