Though some of lawmakers on the Hosue committee appeared surprised or even outraged over the prospect of US citizen data being sucked up during foreign surveillance operations, the experts clarified that the seeming loophole is actually a core foundation of Section 702. “Incidental collection,” Franklin told lawmakers is a “recognized feature” of the program.
“The fact that somebody is talking to a foreign target overseas,” Franklin said, “Is known and recognized and not necessarily a problem.” It can be useful, she said, for authorities to identify potential threats in the US gleaned from the information.
Franklin said the real threat to civil liberties in the case comes not necessarily from the collection of the data, but from the ease with which intelligence agencies like the FBI can search for American names in the database of communications.
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