Bipartisan Bill Seeks Warrant Requirements for Section 702 Searches as FISA Surveillance Authority Nears April Expiration

Overview

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Government Surveillance Reform Act on March 12, seeking to overhaul Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before the authority expires on April 20, 2026. The bill would require federal agents to obtain warrants before searching Americans’ communications collected under the program and would prohibit the government from purchasing personal data from commercial brokers without judicial approval.

Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) led the Senate version, while Representatives Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced a companion bill in the House. Additional cosponsors include Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Representatives Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

What Section 702 Permits

Section 702 authorizes U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. persons believed to be located outside American territory. The program compels major technology companies and telecommunications providers to assist in the collection. While the statute prohibits deliberately targeting U.S. citizens, their communications are routinely swept up when they correspond with surveilled foreign targets.

The scope of this incidental collection has drawn sustained criticism. The FBI conducted 3.4 million warrantless searches of Section 702 data using U.S. person identifiers in 2021 alone, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Documented queries have targeted Black Lives Matter protesters, journalists, political commentators, and donors to a congressional campaign.

Key Provisions of the Reform Bill

The legislation proposes several structural changes to the surveillance framework:

Warrant requirement for backdoor searches. Federal agents would need judicial authorization before querying Section 702 databases for Americans’ communications, with emergency exceptions preserved. An amendment mandating this requirement narrowly failed in the House during the 2024 reauthorization debate.

Data broker loophole closure. The bill would prohibit intelligence agencies from purchasing Americans’ personal data, including geolocation and browsing history, from commercial data brokers without a warrant. Privacy advocates have long argued that this practice allows agencies to circumvent Fourth Amendment protections by buying information they would otherwise need court orders to obtain.

Repeal of the 2024 surveillance expansion. The Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, passed in April 2024, controversially broadened the definition of electronic communication service providers that can be compelled to assist with surveillance. The new bill would reverse that expansion, which critics warned could force ordinary businesses and individuals to participate in government intelligence gathering.

Reverse targeting ban. The legislation would prohibit using surveillance of foreign targets as a pretext for collecting data on Americans, a practice known as reverse targeting.

Modern technology protections. Federal law enforcement would be required to obtain warrants before surveilling Americans’ location data, web browsing histories, search queries, chatbot interactions, and vehicle telematics information.

Political Landscape

The reauthorization debate unfolds against an unusual political backdrop. Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House but remain divided on the issue, with longstanding concerns about FBI misuse of surveillance tools dating to the Carter Page controversy during the 2016 election investigation. Democrats who previously supported Section 702 now express heightened concerns about reauthorizing powerful surveillance tools under the current administration.

Intelligence officials have argued that allowing Section 702 to lapse would create what they describe as a national security emergency. Compliance data offers some counterweight to reform advocates: a March 2025 FISA court opinion indicated reduced instances of misuse, and an October 2025 Justice Department inspector general report found that the FBI had largely curtailed widespread noncompliant querying.

Civil Liberties Groups Divided on Approach

The bill has drawn endorsements from a broad coalition including the ACLU, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Brennan Center for Justice, Americans for Prosperity, and Restore the Fourth. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has taken a more cautious position, characterizing a related proposal as containing “much-needed reforms” but identifying critical gaps, including insufficient restrictions on query practices and a failure to address the use of Section 702 data for immigrant vetting.

A coalition of 90 organizations has urged congressional leadership to oppose any clean extension of the surveillance authority without substantive reforms.

Deadline Pressure

With the April 20 expiration date roughly five weeks away and only two oversight hearings held so far, the timeline for legislative action remains tight. The Government Surveillance Reform Act is currently the only bipartisan, bicameral proposal on offer, though its prospects for passage before the deadline remain uncertain.