In 2008, Congress enacted Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to expand the government’s capacity to conduct surveillance of suspected foreign terrorists. The law permits the National Security Agency to acquire the communications of almost any foreigner abroad without obtaining an individualized court order.
Although the surveillance may only be targeted at foreigners abroad, it inevitably sweeps in large amounts of Americans’ phone calls, texts, and emails. Congress and the FISA Court have attempted to limit the government’s access to these communications, but the government has engaged in widespread violations of these limits. To give just a few examples, the FBI has conducted warrantless searches of Section 702-acquired information to access communications of Black Lives Matter protestors, U.S. government officials, journalists, political commentators, and 19,000 donors to a single congressional campaign.
In April 2024, Congress passed the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA), which reauthorized Section 702 for two years.
The following Brennan Center and coalition resources provide detailed information on Section 702, how it has been used to gain warrantless access to Americans’ communications, RISAA, and the ongoing 2026 reauthorization process.
For additional resources related to the 2023/2024 reauthorization, see the 2023/2024 Reauthorization Resource Page.
Resources
Congress Must Close Backdoor Search Loophole by Requiring Warrant/FISA Title I Order for U.S. Person Queries (February 17, 2026)
Congress Must Close Data Broker Loophole by Prohibiting Government Purchases of Americans’ Sensitive Data (February 12, 2024)
RISAA’s Surveillance Expansion: A Dangerously Broad “Fix” to a Narrow Fact Pattern (April 18, 2024)
“Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act” Would Dramatically Expand Warrantless Surveillance (April 17, 2024)
The Senate Must Stop “One of the Most Dramatic and Terrifying Expansions of Government Surveillance Authority in History” (April 17, 2024)
Section 702 Backdoor Searches: Myths and Facts (November 28, 2023)
FISA Section 702: Civil Rightfvvvs Abuses (November 27, 2023)
PCLOB Report Reveals New Abuses of FISA Section 702 (October 11, 2023)
PCLOB Endorses Reforms to FISA Section 702 (October 11, 2023)
PCLOB Report on FISA Section 702: In the PCLOB’s Words (October 11, 2023)
Analysis and Opinion
Is Secret Law the Solution to an Overbroad Surveillance Authority? (Elizabeth Goitein; Just Security; June 11, 2024)
The FISA Expansion Turning Cable Installers Into Spies Cannot Stand (Elizabeth Goitein; The Hill; April 17, 2024)
Why Congress Must Reform FISA Section 702—and How It Can (Noah Chauvin; The Dispatch; April 9, 2024)
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board Embraces Surveillance Reforms (Noah Chauvin; October 12, 2023)
The Year of Section 702 Reform, Part III: Why Congress Should Not Exempt Warrantless “Foreign Intelligence” Queries (Elizabeth Goitein; Just Security; July 27, 2023)
Surveillance Reforms Do Not Endanger Americans (Noah Chauvin; July 19, 2023)
The Coming Fight Over American Surveillance (Elizabeth Goitein; Foreign Affairs; June 6, 2023)
The Year of Section 702 Reform, Part II: Closing the Gaps and Completing the Modernization of FISA (Elizabeth Goitein; Just Security; April 18, 2023)
The Year of Section 702 Reform, Part I: Backdoor Searches (Elizabeth Goitein; Just Security; February 13, 2023)
Congressional Testimony
Testimony on “Review and Reform: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Executive Accountability” Before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (Elizabeth Goitein; January 28, 2026)
Testimony on “Oversight of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act” Before the House Committee on the Judiciary (Elizabeth Goitein; December 11, 2025)
Testimony on “Fixing FISA, Part II” Before the House Committee on the Judiciary (Elizabeth Goitein; July 14, 2023)
Interviews and Panels
Will No One Rid Us of This Warrantless Surveillance? (Elizabeth Goitein; Marketplace Tech; January 24, 2024)
Liza Goitein on National Security Law Today: Debating Section 702: National Security or Invasion of Privacy? With Liza Goitein (ABA National Security Law Today; October 3, 2023)
Surveillance Reform Prospects (Cato Institute Panel; June 6, 2023)
Coalition Statements and Press Releases
Coalition Letter Urges Senate Judiciary Committee to Reform Section 702 Surveillance Authority (January 27, 2026)
Coalition Letter Urges House Judiciary Committee to Reform Section 702 Surveillance Authority (December 10, 2025)
Coalition Letter Condemns Firing of Three PCLOB Members (August 6, 2025)
Civil Liberties Advocates’ Statement on PCLOB Section 702 Report (September 28, 2023)
Federal Oversight Board Recommends Reforms to Section 702 of FISA to Protect Americans’ Privacy (September 27, 2023)
