WASHINGTON – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the global voice for the tech sector and its leading companies, issued the following statement from President and CEO Dean Garfield encouraging Senators to pass the bipartisan USA Freedom Act following a Senate vote this evening to debate and consider the bill:

"Tonight’s strong bipartisan vote to begin debate on the USA Freedom Act shows that neither a sunset nor the status quo is an acceptable outcome. The Senate’s inability over the past several days to bring certainty and clarity to our nation’s surveillance laws now puts us in uncharted territory. As lawmakers consider the path forward, we renew our call for Congress to remain committed to ensuring that surveillance authorities appropriately protect peoples’ privacy and civil liberties while enabling lawful and legitimate access to data by the government.

“We again urge Senators to pass the USA Freedom Act and eschew any harmful amendments. Doing so would end indiscriminate bulk collection of data and bring much needed transparency to the process by allowing tech companies to report information about the government orders they receive for access to data. Adopting these reforms is a critical step in restoring America’s reputation as the leader in protecting the privacy and security of user data.”

Citing the importance of reforming U.S. surveillance laws to restore eroded trust in the U.S. government and technology sector, ITI signaled its support for H.R. 2048, the USA Freedom Act, in a letter to Senators earlier this month. ITI is the only tech trade group to score votes that are key priorities for the technology industry.

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