A group of seven Internet companies are pledging to defend their users’ privacy this week when the U.S. House of Representatives debates a revision of the “USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020.” Mozilla, Engine, Reddit, Reform Government Surveillance, Twitter, i2Coalition and Patreon have asked four U.S. lawmakers to explicitly ban the unauthorized collection of search and browsing history on the Internet.
"We hope lawmakers will amend the bill to limit government access to Internet browsing and search history without a warrant," Mozilla said in a blog post.
“Search and browsing history continues to be collected and stored on the web. We believe this data deserves strong legal protection when the government seeks access to it, but in many cases that protection is uncertain.”
In a letter [PDF] to four members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the group said privacy and security are essential to the economy, businesses, and the continued growth of a free and open internet.
“By clearly reaffirming these protections, Congress can help maintain user trust and facilitate continued use of the Internet as a powerful contributor to our recovery,” the group wrote.
The companies said that search and browsing history can provide a detailed portrait of private lives and can reveal sensitive information such as medical conditions, religious beliefs and personal relationships, and should therefore be protected by effective legal safeguards.
The Senate recently considered an amendment to address the concerns the group raised in its letter. They said the amendment would explicitly prohibit the use of Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act to collect search and browsing history without meaning to.
“This provision has attracted the support of a majority of the Senate, as well as consumer and business across America. It enjoys broad bipartisan support among members of the House of Representatives and should be included if the House reauthorizes the so-called USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act,” they said.
“Congress should seize this opportunity to resolve any potential ambiguity and provide strong legal protections for all search and browsing history.”
