Senate Dem blocks spy bill over provision on online ‘terrorist activity’

The Senate’s annual intelligence policy bill is hitting a speedbump thanks to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Wyden has blocked the Senate’s plan to plow ahead with the annual Intelligence Authorization Act this week, over what he said is a troublingly vague provision requiring tech companies such as Facebook and Twitter to report incidents of “terrorist activity” to federal officials.

{mosads}“Internet companies should not be subject to broad requirements to police the speech of their users,” Wyden said in a statement announcing his desire to block the legislation. “I haven’t yet heard any law enforcement or intelligence agencies suggest that this provision will actually help catch terrorists, and I take the concerns that have been raised about its breadth and vagueness seriously.”

The provision aims to respond to what U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials have decried as a rash of people growing radicalized on the Internet. It would not require tech companies to conduct new searches of their sites, supporters say, but would just make sure that they notify officials if they notice anything that appears related to terrorism.

The provision has previously come under fire by tech groups and privacy advocates, who say it would turn Web companies into “watchdogs” for the government.

In the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this month, FBI Director James Comey called the measure “an interesting idea” but declined to explicitly back it.

Tech companies “are pretty good about telling us what they see,” Comey said.

Wyden, who is a member of the Intelligence panel, said that he had previously raised concerns that the measure “required further debate.” However, he voted for the bill when it passed out of the committee unanimously in June.

Senate leaders had made clear they planned to fast-track the bill for a unanimous consent motion on Monday evening, according to Wyden’s office. 

Now, Wyden said he’ll be working “to revise or remove this provision” to move the rest of the bill forward.

— Updated at 4:38 p.m. on July 30 to note that Wyden voted for the bill in committee