EFF thanks Chair Jordan, Ranking Member Raskin, and Members of the Committee for the opportunity to share our views on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. For more than 30 years, EFF has represented the interests of technology users in both court cases and in broader policy debates to help ensure that law and technology support, and do not inhibit, our civil liberties. From that vantage point, we have actively litigated to stop the illegal, unconstitutional, and ongoing dragnet surveillance of Americans’ communications and communications records.

With Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) set to expire in April 2026, we understand that this committee is considering whether to reauthorize the law and if so, whether to make any necessary amendments to the invasive surveillance authority.

Congress should end the many years of overreach by the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) by requiring warrants for the collection or capture of any communication involving an American, closing warrantless “backdoor” access to data, and ensuring real transparency. 

While Section 702 was first sold as a tool necessary to stop foreign terrorists, it has since become clear that the government uses the communications it collects under this law as a domestic source. Considering the Intelligence Committees’ proposals to renew this authority for an extended period of time without adequate safeguards to prevent further abuses, it’s more necessary than ever for the Judiciary Committee to write and pass a bill with reforms that prevent longstanding and widespread abuses of the program and that advance due process for everyone who communicates online.