EPIC Files FOIA Request Seeking Surveillance Court Opinion that Highlights Surveillance Abuse

On October 7, EPIC submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of Director of National Intelligence seeking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s March 2026 ruling recertifying the foreign surveillance program under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). FISA Section 702 authorizes warrantless surveillance targeting non-U.S. persons reasonably believed to be outside the United States but nonetheless “incidentally” collects a significant amount of U.S. persons’ communications.

According to a press release by Senator Ron Wyden, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee who has read the opinion, the FISC “found major compliance problems related to the surveillance law known as section 702.” Senator Wyden also wrote a letter to his Senate colleagues urging them to review a classified letter he wrote describing the findings of the FISC before voting to renew the law.

EPIC has long supported meaningful reforms of FISA Section 702 and supports previously introduced bills from both sides of the aisle that would reauthorize Section 702 of FISA while closing both the backdoor search and data broker loopholes; namely, the Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 (GSRA); the Security and Freedom Enhancement Act of 2026 (SAFE Act); and the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act of 2026 (Protect Liberty Act). EPIC previously published a blog series—including this overview of the issue explaining why the law must be reformed.