Does Section 702 surveillance of foreign nationals even require a national security pretext? When it was introduced in 2008 it was sold as a tool for stopping foreign terrorists (and it continues to be justified on grounds of fighting terrorism [1]), but judging by e.g. ACLU's account of this case [2], FBI came by the emails of the Temple physics prof incidentally in the course of conducting "extensive surveillance of Chinese universities and scientific research centers", where the "fighting terrorism" justification transparently doesn't apply.
[1] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rogues-gallery-threats-made-...
> Since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, [Wray] said, a “rogue’s gallery” of groups have called for violence against the US. “702 is critical to protecting Americans from foreign terrorist threats,” he urged. “Please don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
[2] https://www.aclu.org/cases/xi-v-united-states-challenge-warr...
> The government has reportedly engaged in extensive warrantless surveillance of Chinese universities and scientific research centers. It has siphoned communications off servers, computers, and major internet networks that connect many of China’s most prestigious academic institutions. Both the NSA and FBI routinely store the emails and phone calls they intercept in government databases for years, where they can be later searched by analysts and agents who are investigating Americans. FBI agents conduct so-called “backdoor searches” on Americans so often that the government has referred to one of these massive databases as the “FBI’s Google.”
[1] https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rogues-gallery-threats-made-... > Since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, [Wray] said, a “rogue’s gallery” of groups have called for violence against the US. “702 is critical to protecting Americans from foreign terrorist threats,” he urged. “Please don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
[2] https://www.aclu.org/cases/xi-v-united-states-challenge-warr... > The government has reportedly engaged in extensive warrantless surveillance of Chinese universities and scientific research centers. It has siphoned communications off servers, computers, and major internet networks that connect many of China’s most prestigious academic institutions. Both the NSA and FBI routinely store the emails and phone calls they intercept in government databases for years, where they can be later searched by analysts and agents who are investigating Americans. FBI agents conduct so-called “backdoor searches” on Americans so often that the government has referred to one of these massive databases as the “FBI’s Google.”