The House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress voted to extend the program of wiretapping and interception of electronic mailing of residents of other countries that are suspected of terrorism for six years. Its very existence has been a matter of debates not only in the United States, but also in other countries of the world, TASS reports.

Voting took place more by party affiliation. The bill on the extension was mostly supported by Republicans - 256, while 164 members of the House, mostly Democrats voted against the bill.

If the Senate approves the bill, it will be submitted to the president.

This is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), adopted in 1978. The amendment of 2008 authorizes special services to listen to phone conversations and view electronic correspondence between foreign citizens who are outside the United States but using American satellite channels, communication nodes or Internet servers, including those belonging to large companies without the sanction of a special court.

In general, special services have no right to conduct a similar surveillance without a warrant for Americans. However, there is an exception – U.S. citizens can get under the program and fall under surveillance if they are in contact with foreigners who are under surveillance of intelligence.