Government Surveillance Transparency Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill changes how the government uses secret orders to watch people's phones, emails, and locations. It stops the practice of keeping these orders hidden forever, requiring most to be made public after 180 days unless a judge finds a specific reason to keep them secret longer.
• It affects anyone who is the target of a criminal investigation. Under the new rules, the government must eventually tell you if they searched your digital records or listened to your calls, ensuring you know when your privacy has been interrupted.
• Currently, many people never find out they were under surveillance because the paperwork stays sealed in court. This bill aims to increase transparency by creating a searchable public database of these orders so citizens and oversight groups can see how often the government is watching people.
• To protect active investigations, the bill allows for extensions of secrecy if there is a risk of physical danger, evidence destruction, or a suspect fleeing. However, the government must provide specific facts to a judge to justify each extension rather than getting a blanket approval.
• The plan includes $25 million in grants to help state and tribal courts update their computer systems to handle these new transparency requirements. Most of these changes would start two years after the bill becomes law to give agencies time to prepare.