"A key U.S. spy tool has lapsed — now what?" 13 June 2026

Congress has let a key spy tool, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, lapse.

Each year, the provision is used by American intelligence agencies to collect the electronic communications of hundreds of thousands of foreigners located outside of the United States...

...[C]ompanies — electronic communications service providers, in this context — will still be legally required to turn over material to intelligence agencies...

...Elizabeth Goitein, a privacy rights advocate and senior director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program...said she feels the security risks of a lapse are limited and wants to see the law updated with key privacy and civil liberties reforms...Each time the provision has come up for renewal over its nearly two-decade history, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has pushed for reforms to the program to better protect Americans' privacy rights...