Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill requires government agencies to get a warrant before searching databases of information collected under Section 702 for communications about Americans. Exceptions exist for emergencies involving imminent threats, consent, cybersecurity defense, and cases where the person is already under an existing court order.
• Title II, called the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, bans law enforcement and intelligence agencies from purchasing personal data like location information, communications content, and subscriber records from data brokers. If agencies need this information, they must get a court order just like they would from a phone company or internet provider.
• The bill strengthens the role of independent privacy advocates (amici curiae) in the secret FISA Court. These advocates would be appointed in more types of cases, given broader access to classified materials, and allowed to raise privacy concerns on their own and even appeal court decisions.
• The bill extends FISA Title VII surveillance authorities until April 20, 2028, keeping the foreign intelligence collection program running while adding new privacy safeguards. It also sunsets the expanded definition of electronic communication service provider on December 31, 2026.
• The bill makes FISA the exclusive legal channel for the government to collect communications records, location data, web browsing history, and internet search history of Americans for intelligence purposes. This closes loopholes that agencies have used to gather this data outside the FISA framework.

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