Biden urged to veto FISA renewal following Senate vote, as per Snowden's request.

On Saturday, Edward Snowden urged President Joe Biden to reject the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) after the Senate passed the re-authorization the previous day.

"Snowden wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the House has approved unconstitutional, warrantless searches of Americans' communications. The Senate has also approved it, but only the President can prevent it from becoming law, and he won't because he requested it."

The government uses Section 702 to gather intelligence on foreign subjects with the help of electronic communication service providers. Snowden's statements were made after the upper chamber passed the re-authorization of Section 702 by a vote of 60-34.

The measure is now headed to Biden's desk for his signature.

The Justice Department's work to safeguard the American people from various threats is crucial, and Section 702 is indispensable to this effort, as stated by Attorney General Merrick Garland following the vote.

The Justice Department will continue to use Section 702 to ensure that our efforts to keep our country safe are informed by the most valuable and timely intelligence, as we continue to uphold our commitment to protect the rights of all Americans, in the face of today's heightened global threat environment, according to Garland's statement.

If the provision had expired, companies would not have been obligated to comply with government surveillance requests under the bill. The government would have been required to obtain a warrant to obtain any such assistance from companies.

On both sides of the Section 702 renewal debate, there are bipartisan coalitions forming, with some arguing that the provision is essential for national security, while others express concerns about its potential violation of constitutional rights.

The amendments proposed by Sens. Rand Paul, Roger Marshall, Ron Wyden, Josh Hawley, Mike Lee, and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin were considered before the bill's final approval.

"We must not continue to sacrifice our freedoms in the name of security. Instead of curbing FISA overreach, RISAA expands it significantly," Paul stated before beginning to vote on his amendments. "I urge my colleagues to support reforms that protect both national security and civil liberties."

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., opposed the inclusion of the amendments due to the tight deadline. Despite their support, none of the amendments received the necessary votes and were not included in the bill.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed a bill, putting Speaker Mike Johnson in a difficult position between privacy and national security advocates within his party.

Planet Chronicle' Julia Johnson and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.