Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authorizes the government to collect the communications of almost any foreigner abroad without obtaining an individualized court order. Although the government may not target Americans for surveillance under Section 702, the collection inevitably sweeps in large volumes of Americans’ phone calls, texts, and emails because Americans communicate with foreigners.
Despite Congress’s directive to “minimize” the retention and use of these “incidentally” collected communications of Americans, the FBI, CIA, and NSA routinely search through Section 702 data for the express purpose of finding and reviewing Americans’ communications. An authority to target foreigners has thus become a rich source of warrantless access to Americans’ private communications.
Absent congressional action, Section 702 will expire on April 20, 2026. In advance of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on January 28, 2026, the Brennan Center joined 27 civil society organizations in urging members of the committee to include essential reforms to protect Americans’ privacy and civil liberties in any legislation reauthorizing Section 702. These reforms include closing the backdoor search loophole, closing the data broker loophole, fixing the “electronic communication service provider” definition, and strengthening amici participation at the FISA Court.
Coalition Letter Urges Senate Judiciary Committee to Reform Section 702 Surveillance Authority by The Brennan Center for Justice on Scribd
