Patrick Toomey

Deputy Director w/ @ACLU's National Security Project. Views here are my own.

[Elizabeth Goitein @LizaGoitein]

At dawn this morning, the Senate voted 47-52 not to advance a Section 702 reauthorization that would have given the Trump administration warrantless access to Americans’ communications. It’s an interim victory… but it’s crucial to take the right lessons from it. 1/11

[Elizabeth Goitein @LizaGoitein]

In a dramatic scene that unfolded in the wee hours this morning, members of the House defeated a ploy by the administration and Speaker Johnson to ram through a 5-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Here’s what happened, and what will/should happen next. 1/20

[Elizabeth Goitein @LizaGoitein]

The @nytimes published a story last night that should put a nail in the coffin of the administration’s plans to push a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Bottom line: the FBI is seemingly *still* engaged in systemic violations of the law. 1/20 https://t.co/MyWMAqBPWi

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

We're hiring! If you're eager to work at the ACLU on issues where civil liberties and national security meet—or you know someone who is—apply below or help us spread the word:

https://t.co/UNp7l8ksw4

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

Our essay addresses discriminatory policies like the failed "China Initiative" and the new wave of state land laws targeting people from China and other countries.

The full report is available here: https://t.co/3rOd0cWYxm

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

Great new report out today, “Getting China Right at Home”—part of the launch of SAIS’s new Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs (@SAIS_ACF).

Glad to be a contributor alongside @AshleyGorski, as well as the many other spectacular authors and editors!

[ACF @ Johns Hopkins SAIS @SAIS_ACF]

Our inaugural report is live: https://t.co/DsknE1acOz!

Incl @jonasnahm Margaret Pearson @SammSacks Graham Webster @pstAsiatech Henry Farrell @MaryGao Sara Newland @hofunghung Alastair Iain Johnston D.G. Kim Christine Chen @ashgorski @PatrickCToomey @YashengHuang @jessicacweiss!

[The Intercept @theintercept]

The FBI trawled NSA records without a warrant to investigate a man suspected of trying to join a terror group, prosecutors admit. https://t.co/n88T6Pxkxx

[Ashley Gorski @ashgorski]

Last night, for the first time, a federal court held that the FBI's warrantless queries of Section 702 databases violated the Fourth Amendment. Enormous win for privacy rights.

The opinion is here: https://t.co/EdFA2OLDAZ

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

Here's the key passage on page 52 of the new opinion:

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

BIG surveillance news: Late yesterday, in a long-awaited ruling, a district court in Brooklyn held that the FBI’s Section 702 queries violated the 4th Amendment.

This is a major constitutional ruling on one of the most abused provisions of FISA.

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

The decision came in US v. Hasbajrami, where the defense has spent years challenging Section 702 surveillance.

It builds on a groundbreaking opinion by the 2nd Circuit in 2019.

https://t.co/wdnhF8eXf4

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

By refusing to block this ban, the Supreme Court is giving the executive branch unprecedented power to silence speech it doesn’t like, increasing the danger that vague invocations of ‘national security’ will trump our constitutional rights.

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

The Supreme Court’s TikTok ruling is incredibly disappointing—allowing the government to shut down an entire platform and the free speech rights of so many based on fear-mongering and speculation.

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

Our amicus brief is available here, with thanks to our partners @EFF, @CenDemTech, @FreedomofPress, @ppi, @fightfortheftr, @ITIFdc, @publicknowledge:

https://t.co/FUfH8MJExZ

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

NEW: ACLU and partners file brief urging the Supreme Court to strike down the TikTok ban.

Banning this social media platform would trample on the constitutional rights of over 170 million Americans.

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

With kudos to our partners at @EFF and @KFAI: https://t.co/wPX0r8C7Kv

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

We just filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to block enforcement of the TikTok ban—the law that would effectively force 170 million people in the U.S. off the platform on January 19, 2025.

The court must intervene and protect our right to freely express ourselves.

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

https://t.co/htFqpOMh1C

[Patrick Toomey @PatrickCToomey]

The D.C. Circuit's ruling upholding the TikTok ban sets a flawed and dangerous precedent—one that gives the government far too much power to silence Americans’ speech online.