Senators have narrowly rejected a bipartisan amendment that would have required the government first obtain a warrant before accessing Americans’ web browsing data.
The amendment brought by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) — just seven lines in length — would have forced the government to first establish probable cause — or reasonable suspicion of a crime — to obtain the warrant. That’s a far higher bar than what’s required under existing law, which under the Patriot Act permits the bulk collection of Americans’ browsing records.