House defeats privacy measure in wake of Orlando shootings; Politico, 6/16/16

Cory Bennett, Politico; House defeats privacy measure in wake of Orlando shootings:

"The House on Thursday blocked an amendment that opponents said would have taken away critical intelligence tools just four days after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

The 198-222 vote is a blow for privacy advocates who have spent years building support for the amendment, which would have barred the government from forcing companies to weaken their encryption for law enforcement. The provision passed the House twice in 2014 and 2015 by wide margins, before being stripped each time during conferences with the Senate.

But Sunday’s deadly assault in Orlando, in which suspected Islamic State supporter Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people at a gay nightclub, caused a drastic erosion in support for the language...

Numerous hawkish lawmakers have introduced bills to either delay surveillance reforms or strengthen the government’s ability to collect data. A widely supported email privacy bill — which would require law enforcement to seek a warrant before accessing stored email — is even being held up in the Senate over an amendment that would let the FBI use national security letters to obtain email and Internet metadata."