Tech giants urge Congress to revise foreign surveillance law

A coalition of technology companies that includes Facebook, Google and Microsoft is asking Congress to make changes to a foreign surveillance law.

In a Friday letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the companies urged the panel to revise Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for intelligence agencies to spy on foreign nationals who are not on U.S. soil.

{mosads}The letter lays out a list of five changes that the groups say would improve judicial oversight of such surveillance programs and help protect the rights of Americans who may be swept up in the Section 702 intelligence operations.

The statute is up for reauthorization at the end of the year, and privacy advocates have been pushing for Congress to use the opportunity to make reforms.

The letter was signed by 31 major tech firms and trade groups, including Twitter, Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox and Amazon. Apple was not among the signatories.