As Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is set to expire in the coming week, the International Press Institute (IPI) urges Congress to oppose reauthorization of the statute until necessary reforms that would protect journalists\u2019 privacy and communications can be made.<\/p>\n
Section 702<\/a>, which was added as an amendment to FISA in 2008, empowers the U.S. intelligence community to surveil and monitor foreign nationals reasonably believed to be located abroad with the purpose of gathering intelligence information.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though the statute explicitly prohibits the direct surveillance of U.S. persons, who are protected from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Section 702 surveillance probes do incidentally sweep up the communications of U.S. persons that have had contact with surveillance targets.\u00a0<\/p>\n These communications from U.S. persons to surveillance targets, which can include calls, emails and texts between American or U.S.-based journalists and overseas sources, can then be stored, queried, and reviewed by American intelligence agencies without a court-ordered warrant.\u00a0<\/p>\n Section 702 is next set to expire on April 20. President Donald Trump has called for<\/a> a \u201cclean\u201d 18-month reauthorization that does not make additional changes to the statute. He had previously called for an end<\/a> to the surveillance program under the Biden administration. Last month, bipartisan concerns over a \u201cclean\u201d reauthorization of Section 702 delayed voting<\/a> on renewal of the statute.\u00a0<\/p>\n Section 702 was last reauthorized in 2024<\/a>, following months of debate and bipartisan concern over privacy. Several reforms were included during the last reauthorization cycle, including a requirement that intelligence agents get permission<\/a> before querying the Section 702 database for information that could involve U.S. persons. However, an amendment that would have required a warrant for searches and reviews of Section 702 surveillance data involving Americans was narrowly rejected.\u00a0<\/p>\n Misuse and abuse of Section 702 to surveil and target Americans \u2013 including journalists \u2013 are well-documented<\/a>. In March 2026, a FISA court judge found<\/a> that the filtering process intelligence agents use to review the messages of Americans does not comply with rules for queries of Americans\u2019 information, and must be reengineered.\u00a0<\/p>\n By the government\u2019s own admission<\/a>, the digital communications of U.S.-based journalists swept up by the Section 702 intelligence gathering process have been improperly queried by intelligence agents in warrantless, \u201cbackdoor\u201d searches, threatening the privacy of journalists and compromising reporter-source confidentiality.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n As IPI has documented<\/a>, concerns about leaks have made sources inside and outside the U.S. less inclined to speak to American journalists, particularly on matters related to national security. Critics have also pointed to a lack of independent oversight over Section 702 authority and efforts<\/a> by the Trump administration to dismantle<\/a> the surveillance program\u2019s oversight mechanisms during his second term.<\/p>\n This impending reauthorization round also comes as the Trump administration expands domestic use of a spyware tool<\/a> that has been used against journalists<\/a> to target \u201cforeign terrorist organizations\u201d and has demonstrated an unprecedented willingness to use legal mechanisms to force journalists to reveal confidential sources of reporting on administration policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n In January, the FBI raided the home<\/a> and seized the reporting equipment of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor. In February, a federal judge ruled<\/a> that the Department of Justice could not search Natanson\u2019s devices, due to concerns that allowing the government to review her large trove of confidential government sources would be akin to<\/a> \u201cleaving the government\u2019s fox in charge of the Washington Post\u2019s henhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n During an April press conference following the downing of an American fighter jet in Iran, Trump threatened<\/a> to jail journalists who reported on details of the rescue operation if they did not reveal the source of their reporting. It remains unclear which reporters and outlet he was referring to. Trump has used the war against Iran as justification<\/a> for a \u201cclean\u201d reauthorization of Section 702.<\/p>\n \u201cWe strongly urge Congress to oppose reauthorization of Section 702 unless key provisions protecting privacy of communications are introduced,\u201d said John Daniszewski, chair of the North American Committee of IPI. \u201cVoting to reauthorize Section 702 under the current administration would essentially hand the president a new tool with which to go after members of the press for any reporting the administration does not like.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWithout sufficient oversight and privacy guardrails that protect the rights of journalists, reauthorization of Section 702 will undoubtedly increase the chilling effect this administration has already created for the press. This could mean important stories would go unpublished, which would ultimately deprive the public of critical news and information. IPI urges Congress to implement reforms of Section 702 that prevent governmental overreach and protect the civil liberties of all Americans.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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