Another major blow to US citizens' privacy as the Senate passes a bill that gives the FBI and CIA the power to monitor record of the formerletterof your browsing without a warrant.
Senators Ron Wyden of Oregan and Senator Steve Daines of Montana have proposed introducing privacy into the Patriot Act, which gives law enforcement the oversight power to maintain national security.
However, the modification of privacy needs only one more vote, as many senators did not show up. (Do not hope, someone will be found)
This vote is a step backwards in protecting the privacy of US citizens on many levels. There is already a growing level of concern among privacy advocates, as governments around the world use the Koranic pandemic as a shield to introduce new surveillance measures without much debate.
Evan Greer, deputy director of Fight For The Future, a non-profit digital support team, said on Motherboard that Patriot Act should be abolished in its entirety:
The Patriot Act must be abolished altogether, and buried in the ground. It is one of the worst laws passed in the last century and there is no indication that the mass surveillance programs it allows have ever saved a human life.
Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the FBI and other agencies can request that an Internet service provider that useste your browsing data without needing a warrant.
As reported by The Sign up, HTTPS connections to websites and SSH tunneling can make it difficult for these companies to find your data. In addition, you can use the browser Tor which provides an additional level of anonymity through a three-tier security.