Surveillance Reform On Hold, And The Government Shutdown Is The Excuse

After months of gaining steam, the federal government shutdown is forcing a delay on surveillance reform efforts.

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, and LinkedIn asked the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to delay the proceedings over “their lawsuits against the U.S. government over surveillance transparency,” The Hill reports.

The companies were scheduled to respond by Oct. 21 to a recent DOJ motion urging the FISC to reject their pleas to be able to publish the number of user data requests they receive from the nation’s intelligence agencies.

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