Biggs Proposes FISA Reform Blocking Warrantless Surveillance of Americans

What Happened

Representative Andy Biggs has introduced legislation that would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act while blocking federal agencies from conducting warrantless searches of Americans’ communications. The ‘Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act’ would extend the controversial spy authority until April 2028. It would also add significant privacy protections that the Trump administration has reportedly opposed.

Section 702 authorizes intelligence agencies to survey foreign targets without individual court orders. But the collection inevitably sweeps up massive volumes of Americans’ phone calls, texts, and emails when they communicate with foreigners. Current law allows agencies to search this incidentally collected data for Americans’ information without obtaining warrants. Privacy advocates call this a ‘backdoor search loophole’ that circumvents Fourth Amendment protections.

Biggs’ bill would require warrants for queries involving U.S. citizens. Exceptions would apply only in emergency situations and imminent threats. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court would receive descriptions of searches within 90 days. This would add oversight currently absent from the process.

The legislation also incorporates ‘The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act.’ It would block law enforcement and intelligence agencies from purchasing Americans’ private data from third-party brokers to circumvent warrant requirements.

Why It Matters

Intelligence agencies argue they need quick access to incidentally collected communications to identify threats. They claim warrant requirements would hamper their ability to connect dots and prevent attacks. But privacy advocates believe allowing warrantless searches of Americans’ private communications violates the Fourth Amendment’s core protections. They argue this is especially true when those communications were only swept up through foreign surveillance.

The data broker provision addresses a growing surveillance workaround. Federal agencies can currently purchase from commercial brokers the same location data, browsing history, and communications metadata they would need warrants to collect directly. This allows end-runs around Fourth Amendment protections through commercial transactions rather than legal processes.

Biggs’ bill would prohibit these purchases. It would force agencies to obtain warrants for the information they want rather than buying it on the open market.

The legislation also reverses the expanded definition of ‘electronic communication service provider’ from the last reauthorization. That definition became so broad that lawmakers had to specifically exempt senior centers, hotels, and coffee shops. Without those exemptions, ordinary businesses could have fallen under surveillance requirements.

How It Affects You

For Americans who communicate with anyone abroad, such as family, friends, or business contacts, Section 702 may capture those communications without court oversight. Current law allows intelligence agencies to search the data they collect about you without a warrant. Biggs’ bill would require them to obtain a warrant first unless they are responding to a genuine emergency.

The bill also targets the government’s use of commercial data brokers. Private companies collect and sell detailed information about Americans’ movements, online activity, purchases, and communications. Federal agencies currently buy this data to conduct surveillance they could not legally conduct themselves. This bill would block those purchases and require agencies to obtain warrants for the data they want rather than buying it from private companies.

If passed, the measure would likely be the most influential reform to surveillance practices in years. The Fourth Amendment guarantees protection against unreasonable searches. But incidental collection under foreign surveillance authorities, combined with commercial data purchases, has created massive loopholes. Closing these gaps would restore meaningful warrant requirements for government access to Americans’ private information.

Biggs’ reforms will rise or fall in negotiations over the next month as the April deadline approaches. If the Trump administration and the intelligence community succeed in pushing through a clean reauthorization, current practices will continue unchanged. If privacy advocates prevail, Americans will gain meaningful protections against the warrantless surveillance permitted by current law.