"The lawmakers express concern that because VPNs obscure a user's true location, intelligence agencies may presume that communications of unknown origin are foreign, leading to a loss of privacy protections."
"Millions of Americans connect to VPN servers located in other countries, which can make their internet traffic indistinguishable from that of a foreigner, potentially waiving their constitutional rights."
"Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the U.S. government intercepts vast quantities of electronic communications, including those of Americans, without a warrant, raising significant privacy concerns."
Democratic lawmakers are urging the Director of National Intelligence to clarify if Americans using commercial VPNs could be classified as foreigners under U.S. surveillance law. This classification could strip them of constitutional protections against warrantless spying. The concern arises from the use of foreign VPN servers, which may make American internet traffic indistinguishable from that of foreigners. While federal agencies recommend VPNs for privacy, this could inadvertently compromise the very protections users seek. The issue is linked to a controversial surveillance program set to expire soon.
Read at WIRED
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