January 04, 2019

Castro Reintroduces Bill to Protect Foreign Service Offices from Unauthorized Surveillance Through Consumer Devices

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, reintroduced the Protecting Diplomats from Surveillance Through Consumer Devices Act (H.R.115).  This bipartisan measure, which was authored with House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael T. McCaul (TX-20), requires the State Department to account for location-tracking consumer devices in the broader U.S. embassy and consulate security policies:

“Our frontline civilians serve in some of the most dangerous areas of the world, risking their lives to advance United States’ interests and protect U.S. national security. Changing technologies force us to continually adapt our security practices that keep our diplomats as safe as possible, including those posed by location-tracking consumer devices that reveal physical locations and movements abroad. I was glad to reintroduce the Protecting Diplomats Through Consumer Devices Act with my colleague from Texas, Congressman McCaul, which requires the State Department to account for these devices in their broader security policies at embassies and consulates abroad. We must ensure our brave men and women have the protections they deserve, and this legislation does just that.”

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