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<\/a><\/p>\nJennifer Newstead, a Trump appointee who served in the Justice Department under President Bush, will soon be taking over as general counsel of Facebook, the company announced in a press release on Monday afternoon<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. Newstead will take over from Colin Stretch, who announced plans to retire last year.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJennifer is a seasoned leader whose global perspective and experience will help us fulfill our mission,\u201d Sheryl Sandberg said in a statement included with the release.<\/span><\/p>\n But many are already troubled by Newstead\u2019s history lobbying and legislating for more powerful electronic surveillance. As The Hill<\/em> points out<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, a 2002 Justice Department press release<\/strong><\/span><\/a> describes her as \u201chelping craft\u201d the legislation. Notorious Bush administration lawyer John Yoo described her<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>as the \u201cday-to-day manager of the Patriot Act in Congress\u201d in his 2006 book.<\/span><\/p>\n Passed in the wake of the 9\/11 attacks, the Patriot Act greatly expanded the scope of the government\u2019s surveillance powers, enabling new techniques like roving wiretaps and so-called \u201csneak-and-peek\u201d warrants. Section 215 of the Patriot Act was used to justify the bulk collection of telephone records from US carriers<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, although both the ruling and the legal interpretation that justified it remained secret until the Snowden leaks.<\/span><\/p>\n Most relevant for Facebook, the Patriot Act also initiated the practice of so-called \u201cnational security letters,\u201d in which intelligence agencies informally request specific data without the authorization of a court or judge, citing threats to national security.<\/span><\/p>\n Facebook promoted the lawyer that authored the Patriot Act to chief council. <\/p>\n This law damages our civil liberties to this very day, so it\u2019s perfectly on brand for Facebook. <\/p>\n They truly have no moral compass.<\/p>\n — Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) April 23, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n