Proposed amendment would allow FBI to see your web-browsing history without a warrant

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is proposing an amendment as a part of the renewal of the Patriot Act which would allow the FBI to scavenge through Americans’ web-browsing and search histories without a warrant.

According to Business Insider, the amendment would let Department of Justice officials collect records of anyone’s browsing history without a judge’s approval if they deem the browsing history relevant to an investigation.

McConnell’s amendment blocks the FBI from directly accessing the “content” of a user’s web-browsing history but would allow access to records detailing which sites and search terms were entered online.

The amendment that would allow warrantless searches is one step closer to becoming law after another proposed amendment that would require the FBI to obtain a warrant before accessing people’s web-browsing and search histories failed by one vote on Wednesday.

The Senate is voting on amendments this week.