House expected to consider FISA amendment to bar warrantless search of web history

The House of Representatives is likely to consider an amendment to the Senate's FISA reform package Wednesday that would prohibit officials from accessing a person's Internet search history without a warrant, Fox News has learned.

The amendment is being put forth by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA, and Warren Davidson, R-OH. If passed, the package would go back to the Senate, which already failed to adopt a similar amendment.

SENATE REJECTS FISA AMENDMENT TO BAR WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE OF WEB BROWSER HISTORY

That amendment, which came from Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., received 59 votes in the Senate, one shy of the 60 needed to pass.

"We need to get the government out of our phones & out of our lives," Daines tweeted before the Senate voted earlier this month. "They shouldn't have access to Americans' extremely personal browser data & internet search history w/o a warrant."

If the House passes the amendment from Lofgren and Davidson, the Senate would likely not vote on it until next week. Meanwhile, FISA-related programs will remain dark.

The Senate's package, which had the backing of President Trump, Attorney General William Barr and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., both renews the authority of the FISA courts while also reforming it with new restrictions amid fears that surveillance authorities have been abused.

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FISA reform has been a hot topic since a report from the Justice Department Inspector General revealed significant inaccuracies and omissions by the FBI in FISA warrant applications that led to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court authorizing surveillance of Trump campaign adviser Carter Page in 2016.

subsequent report showed that the FBI's violations of FISA-related rules went beyond the Russia investigation.

Fox News' Chad Pergram and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

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