Following its passage in the House, Section 702 is up for a vote in the Senate Friday, expanding US surveillance efforts with what is being called the “Stasi Amendment.”

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) gives US agencies the ability to monitor the communications of foreign citizens in the interest of national security. As part of the surveillance, a large quantity of Americans’ communication is caught in the dragnet, especially when an American communicates with family, friends, or business associates who are not US citizens. Critics have slammed Section 702 since all of the above is down without obtaining a warrant. To make matters worse, the data is held for years, with law enforcement agencies free to peruse it years after the fact—and for reasons completely unrelated to those that led to its collection.

The Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA) greatly expands US surveillance authority by forcing businesses to aid the government in eavesdropping on individuals. According to Marc Zwillinger, an attorney with experience appearing before the FISA Court of Review, RISAA does this by changing the definition of an “electronic communications service provider” (ECSR).

The FRRA painted with too broad a brush and would have permitted the government to compel assistance not only from data centers, colocation providers, and business landlords, but also from operators and employees of shared workspaces, hotels where guests connect to the Internet, as well as from any third party involved in providing equipment, storage, or even cleaning services to such entities. It did so by dropping the requirement that the recipient of a FISA 702 directive be a “communication” service provider, by expressly making access to equipment alone enough for eligibility, and by adding the term “custodian” as a person that could be asked to provide assistance.

As Zwillinger points out, the terminology has narrowed a bit, but still results in a significant expansion of the definition of ECSR.

The new amendment is a marginal improvement over the last go-around, but it is still problematic. It is not a change that “narrowly updates the definition of electronic communication service provider under Section 702.” Like the FRRA, it: (1) drops the qualifier “communication” from the class of covered “service providers;” (2) makes access to communications-carrying equipment enough to establish eligibility; and (3) adds “custodian” to the list of individuals who can be forced to provide assistance. But unlike the FRRA, it then enumerates a list of business types that cannot be considered ECSPs, including public accommodations, dwellings, restaurants, and community facilities.

Zwillinger makes the case that the government’s amendment to exclude certain businesses is itself proof that RISAA is too broad.

The new amendment would — notwithstanding these exclusions — still permit the government to compel the assistance of a wide range of additional entities and persons in conducting surveillance under FISA 702. The breadth of the new definition is obvious from the fact that the drafters felt compelled to exclude such ordinary places such as senior centers, hotels, and coffee shops. But for these specific exceptions, the scope of the new definition would cover them—and scores of businesses that did not receive a specific exemption remain within its purview.

Lawmakers are well aware how invasive the new legislation is, with Wired reporting that some Hill staffers, as well as privacy experts, are calling the ECSR section the “Stasi Amendment,” after the notorious, Communist-era, East German secret police force.

Senator Ron Wyden, a notable privacy proponent, has slammed the bill and vowed to fight it.

“The House bill represents one of the most dramatic and terrifying expansions of government surveillance authority in history,” Senator Wyden said. “It allows the government to force any American who installs, maintains, or repairs anything that transmits or stores communications to spy on the government’s behalf. That means anyone with access to a server, a wire, a cable box, a wifi router, or a phone. It would be secret: the Americans receiving the government directives would be bound to silence, and there would be no court oversight. I will do everything in my power to stop this bill.”

Senator Wyden goes into detail, highlighting the dangers of the new legislation.

This bill expands that power dramatically. It says that the government can force cooperation from, quote, “any other service provider who has access to equipment that is being or may be used to transmit or store wire or electronic communications.”

Now, if you have access to any communications, the government can force you to help it spy. That means anyone with access to a server, a wire, a cable box, a wifi router, a phone, or a computer. Think about the millions of Americans who work in buildings and offices in which communications are stored or pass through.

After all, every office building in America has data cables running through it. These people are not just the engineers who install, maintain and repair our communications infrastructure; there are countless others who could be forced to help the government spy, including those who clean offices and guard buildings. If this provision is enacted, the government could deputize any one of these people against their will, and force them to become an agent for Big Brother.

If the Stasi Amendment passes Friday, the US will suddenly have much in common with Communist East Germany, creating a culture in which random individuals can be forced to spy on others.