End all bulk collection of data about individuals,...

reforms without sacrificing national security.” Monday’s letter was to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate and House Judiciary and Intelligence committees. Attorney General Eric Holder also received a copy. Organizations ranging from privacy advocates (including the Center for Democracy and Technology, Cyber Privacy Project, Electronic Frontier Foundation) to civil liberties advocates (such as American Civil Liberties Union, Brennan Center for Justice, Human Rights Watch) and technology companies (like Reddit) signed the letter. The groups urged the recipients to not focus legislation simply on Patriot Act Section, which applies to the “bulk collection of any records that reveal relationships between individuals.” Bulk collection should also be prohibited under Section 214, which the NSA has used to authorize bulk collection of Internet metadata through pen/trap authority, said the groups. “The USA FREEDOM Act addresses each of these reforms, as well as others, by aiming to prohibit bulk collection of all data under Section 215 and 214.” The White House has backed a proposal shifting bulk storage of metadata away from the government, instead looking to the phone companies to hold on to any necessary metadata (CD March 28 p10).