A group of technology companies, non-profits and privacy and human rights organizations have sent a letter to President Barack Obama, the director of national intelligence and a wide range of Congressional leaders, calling for an end to the bulk collection of phone metadata under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act.

The letter, sent by dozens of organizations and companies, comes at a time when legislators in the United States are considering a new bill that would repeal the Patriot Act altogether. That measure likely will face stiff opposition in the House of Representatives, but less-sweeping reforms may be on the table as well. In the letter, representatives from the EFF, CloudFlare, Silent Circle, the ACLU, Mozilla, Human Rights Watch and many other organizations say that whatever form the changes take, Section 215 collection needs to end once and for all.

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