Revival of Section 702: Why Crypto Market is in Fear?

Check out why the crypto market is in fear with the revival of section 702

Recently, the U.S. Senate renewed the revival of Section 702, a broad act that does not require the U.S. to follow legal procedure and report to the court before listening to Americans' phone calls and emails. In the last stage, the bill is now on the cusp of a re-vote, and the crypto community can't believe its eyes on what might go wrong.

Section 702 Inches From Revival

Section 702 of FISA is a controversial piece of surveillance legislation that allows the U.S. government to access, process, and share data held by American companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, as well as telecom providers such as AT&T, without a warrant.

A vote of 60-34 passed the bill, thus heading the pen of President Joe Biden before it is signed into law for implementation. As Biden highlights the Section 702 program as a valuable power for state security, Having President Biden sign the law means it will be valid for another 24 months.

Formulated at first as a tool for counter-terrorism, civil liberties advocates have been unstintingly critical of Section 702's powers over a long time, mentioning "unintentional interception" of data regarding US citizens.

Section 702 poses a severe threat to crypto users' freedom and decentralization and the privacy of people around the world. In a recent interview, Ethereum CEO Vitalik Buterin pointed out that the revival of Section 702 in the crypto market threatens a 'philosophy of freedom and privacy.'

Section 702: A Serious Threat

In addition to Ethereum's CEO Vitalik Buterin, the wider crypto community she expressed worries about the FBI's and NSA's unrestricted access to communications, worried about the potential effects it could have on the entire industry.

When Senator Ron Wyden referred to the Section 702 reauthorization as one of the most destructive expansions to government surveillance power in recent history, he strongly criticized it. Elizabeth Gotten had other thoughts, believing it was a stark shame to the record of the US Congress.

Here lies the possibility that regulatory authorities may develop additional compliance or reporting requirements that will force crypto firms to conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) measures to detect and report any suspicious activity to the relevant law officers.

Moreover, rules could be applied to Section 702, helping authorities in their suppression and bringing the crypto market under more promising scrutiny with the provision of account numbers, wallets, and transactions, among others.