A longstanding law that allows US intelligence agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of communications abroad without the need for search warrants is set to expire on April 30, and lawmakers are deadlocked over whether to allow the Trump administration to extend it without any changes.
Known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the law allows the National Security Agency, the CIA, the FBI and other federal intelligence agencies to record foreign communications flowing through the United States without the need for personalized search warrants.
While cleaning up much of the world’s communications, the agencies also collect unfathomable amounts of information, including phone and email logs, about Americans who interact with people subject to surveillance abroad. This data is collected despite constitutional protections that should protect Americans and people in the United States from government surveillance.
But before the law expired on April 30 after a brief extension passed last weeka bipartisan, pro-privacy group of House lawmakers and senators are calling for sweeping changes to FISA, arguing the changes are “essential” to protecting Americans’ privacy rights.
Some lawmakers are calling for sweeping reforms after years of scandals and surveillance abuses under successive US administrations, while others keeping their vote to further their own political goals by adding the provisions to other legislation.
A post on social media from President Trump suggests that — at least for now — the White House wants to pass a simple reauthorization without changes to the law.
The bipartisan legislative solution is the Government Surveillance Reform Act, introduced in Congress in March by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mike Lee (R-UT) and otherswhich aims to limit some of the government’s warrantless surveillance programs. Among other things, lawmakers are seeking provisions to prevent government agencies from using a “backdoor search” loophole that allows them to monitor Americans’ communications without first obtaining a search warrant.
Another key provision would prevent federal agencies from buying commercially available data on Americans from data brokers — a practice the U.S. government has long argued does not need court authorization.
App developers collect pools of location data from people using smartphone apps and then sell that information to brokers, who in turn sell that data to governments and militaries. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed at a congressional hearing in March that the FBI is buying Americans’ location data without seeking judicial authorization.
Both Republicans and Democrats are reportedly wishes to close this loopholewhich allows spy agencies to buy commercial data and use artificial intelligence models to analyze billions of location points. This is also currently a sticking point in the US government’s negotiations with Anthropic and OpenAI over unrestricted use of their tools.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Government Oversight Project are among some of the privacy groups supporting the bipartisan bill.
It’s currently unclear whether the bill will pass, but lawmakers say legislative reforms are needed, especially as technological advances make it easier than ever for tech companies and governments to track people.
Wyden, the longest-serving lawmaker on any congressional intelligence committee and known for protecting privacy, has warned that many lawmakers are not fully aware that many US governments have long relied on a secret, legal interpretation of Section 702 that “directly affects Americans’ privacy rights.” Wyden said the matter remains classified but urged the administration to declassify the information so lawmakers can discuss it.
In a post in XRep. Thomas Massie (R-KY, 4th) said he would vote against reauthorizing Section 702 after echoing Wyden in expressing concerns about how the FBI was interpreting the law.
Even if Section 702 expires on April 30, it does not mark the immediate end of the US government’s surveillance powers.
While lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have yet to reach a consensus on renewing or amending Section 702, a legal quirk would allow US surveillance to continue until March 2027 unless Congress actively intervenes — even if the law expires.
That’s because the secret court in Washington, DC that oversees the government’s compliance with FISA, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), asks the government every year to certify that its practices are legal. This seal allows the government to collect phone calls and emails for 12 months, effectively guaranteeing that surveillance programs based on FISA legal powers will continue for at least a year.
The US government also has other surveillance powers that are not overseen by Congress, such as Executive Order 12333, a top secret presidential directive that dictates most US government surveillance outside the United States. It also intercepts an unknown amount of Americans’ private communications.
First published on April 17th and updated after a 10-day grace period.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This does not affect our editorial independence.
