Protect Our Civil Liberties Act 2020-12-15 Introduced in House Protect Our Civil Liberties Act

This bill limits government surveillance, including by repealing the USA PATRIOT Act and certain provisions of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, and contains other intelligence-related provisions.

Specifically, the bill repeals all provisions of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 except for a provision requiring certain Department of Justice reports to Congress and another provision authorizing the acquisition of foreign intelligence from certain entities engaged in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Information that concerns a U.S. person must be destroyed if it was previously collected under the laws repealed by the bill.

The bill also prohibits the federal government from (1) acquiring information relating to a U.S. person by using certain foreign intelligence gathering authority without a warrant, (2) requiring electronics or software manufacturers to install a mechanism for the government to bypass encryption or privacy technology, or (3) retaliating against intelligence community whistleblowers.

The bill also extends the terms of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judges from 7 to 10 years and makes such judges eligible for reappointment. Such judges may also appoint special masters to advise the court on technical issues.

The Government Accountability Office must annually evaluate the federal government's compliance with certain laws concerning the collection of foreign intelligence.

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