US lawmakers including Senator Wyden (D-OR) introduce surveillance reforms intended to curb FBI spying

A bipartisan team of U.S. lawmakers has introduced new legislation intended to curb the FBI’s sweeping surveillance powers, saying the bill helps close the loopholes that allow officials to seize Americans’ data without a warrant.

"We're introducing a bill that protects both Americans' security and Americans' liberty," Senator Ron Wyden - a Democrat and a longtime critic of government surveillance - said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"Its opponents were galvanized when the Office of Director of National Intelligence revealed in July that the FBI had improperly conducted searches for information about a U.S. senator and two state officials."

The bill follows more than a decade of debate over post-Sept. 11, 2001, surveillance powers that allow domestic law enforcement to warrantlessly scan the vast mountains of data gathered by America’s foreign surveillance apparatus.