evidence: Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the U.S. government engages in mass, warrantless surveillance of Americans’ and foreigners’ phone calls, text messages, emails, and other electronic communications. Information collected under the law without a warrant can be used to prosecute and imprison people, even for crimes that have nothing to do with national security. Given our nation’s history of abusing its surveillance authorities, and the secrecy surrounding the program, we should be concerned that Section 702 is and will be used to disproportionately target disfavored groups, whether minority communities, political activists, or even journalists. [...] Once the government collects vast amounts of information — including emails, text messages and other communications — under Section 702, that content is stored in databases for years at a time. FBI, CIA, and NSA officials routinely search through this vast trove of data for information specifically about Americans, even though these communications were all collected without a warrant. Information found through these "backdoor searches" can be used to prosecute Americans for crimes, even if they are not related to national security. [...] The government can use information collected under Section 702 in a wide variety of contexts, from criminal cases to immigration proceedings. Despite the government being legally required to provide notice to defendants when information collected under Section 702 is to be used against them, in only a handful of cases has this notification ever been provided.