POLITICAL WATCHERS and rights groups were divided by November's Senate vote on the US Freedom Act, some saying that its passing would have saved citizens from the worst excesses of government snooping, and others suggesting that the opposite was more likely. For now the Act is in the wilderness, but the debate will rage on.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) expressed its disappointment almost immediately, saying that the Act was a glimmer of hope for believers in snooping reforms.

"We are disappointed that the Senate has failed to advance the US Freedom Act, a good start for bipartisan surveillance reform that should have passed the Senate," it said.

The EFF said that it hopes the Act returns with the appropriate amount of support and with no alterations.

"The Senate still has the remainder of the current legislative session to pass the US Freedom Act," it added.

"We continue to urge the Senate to do so and only support amendments that will make it stronger. We strongly oppose any amendment that would water down the strong privacy, special advocate and transparency provisions of the bill."

Fight for the Future, a group with similar beliefs and aims as the EFF, took a different line, contacting its supporters with a warning about the passing of the Act in advance of the vote.

"Two years after we learned about the US government's massive surveillance programmes that target every internet user in the world, the Senate goes to vote on a bill that's supposed to end them," the group said on the day of the vote.

"But it's a wolf in sheep's clothing so far; as written, it does not protect free speech in the digital age.

"It's also possible that some of the amendments being considered could make the bill a little better, but even if that happens it will still fail to be a net positive for privacy.

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US Freedom Act's faltering progress through Congress sparks debate