Congress Lets FISA Section 702 Expire as U.S. Intelligence Collection Continues Under Court Authorization

A surveillance law that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect the communications of foreign targets abroad without a warrant is set to expire at midnight on Friday, as Congress fails to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in time for the deadline.

“Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is set to expire at midnight tonight after Congress failed to pass an extension of the controversial spying law”

Ars Technica

TIME reports that a judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court renewed the government’s surveillance certifications in March, allowing intelligence agencies to continue using the authority until March 2027, even if Section 702 lapses.

Ars Technica

NPR says Congress is about to let Section 702 lapse while intelligence collection can continue for the duration of the court’s authorization, and it notes that companies would still be legally required to turn over material to intelligence agencies.

Glenn Gerstell, a former general counsel of the National Security Agency (NSA), told TIME, “In other words, it covers everything from sanctions evaders, to narco-terrorists, to ISIS terrorists, to what Iran might be up to, North Korea, etc,” as he warned a lapse could mean “what we're missing.”

The expiration fight has been intertwined with Donald Trump’s bid to install a controversial ally as the country’s leading intelligence official, after the backlash over Bill Pulte’s role as acting director of national intelligence brought FISA back into the spotlight.

The Guardian quotes Jason Pye, vice-president of the Due Process Institute, saying, “If Bill Pulte had never become part of the conversation, many of the underlying concerns about section 702 — if not all of them — would still exist,” as it describes privacy advocates’ push for scrutiny and reform.

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NBC News reports that Democrats cut off negotiations after Trump tapped Bill Pulte, and it quotes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying, “Pulte’s got to go. The DNI role is too important,” as he argued the acting director should not be there.

In a separate warning, USA TODAY says Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and Chuck Grassley warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a June 5 letter to get ready for a “potential significant gap in foreign-intelligence collection.”

Even with the statutory expiration, multiple outlets describe a continuing window for surveillance under existing certifications, with Ars Technica saying the current certification will remain in place until March 2027 and that “Section 702 surveillance may continue under existing certifications even if the statute sunsets.”

“WASHINGTON — A powerful surveillance tool backed by the intelligence community is scheduled to expire Friday after the House failed to pass an extension and left town for 12 days”

NBC News

The Hill reports that the House failed to pass a short-term extension through July 2 by a vote of 198-218, leaving Section 702 poised to expire and raising questions about whether surveillance can continue in a “legal gray area.”

USA TODAY frames the stakes around major events and daily intelligence briefing, quoting House Speaker Mike Johnson warning that it would be “a very dangerous time to allow us to not have that important national security tool.”

At the same time, NPR says the security risks of a lapse are limited and quotes Elizabeth Goitein saying, “The FISA law is clear that companies must continue to comply with the government's collection requests even after lapse,” while noting companies risk “a fine of $250,000 per day” for noncompliance.