House expected to vote on search and browsing privacy this week

Enlarge / Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), center, on Capitol Hill in March 2020. (credit: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

An amendment to protect Americans' search and browsing records from government snooping is gaining momentum in the House of Representatives. A vote on the proposal could come as soon as Wednesday.

Two weeks ago, the Senate passed legislation renewing a controversial Patriot Act spying provision known as Section 215. Privacy advocates in the Senate proposed an amendment prohibiting the FBI from using Section 215 to obtain Americans' search and browsing histories. The proposal was supported by 59 out of 100 senators-one fewer than the 60 votes required for the amendment to pass under the Senate's dysfunctional rules.

Now the bill has moved to the House of Representatives, where privacy advocates are hoping to have more success. The House doesn't have the same supermajority rule, so it shouldn't take more than a simple majority to pass the amendment. That would set up a showdown with the Senate about the final text of the bill.

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