SAFE Act

Key Points

• The bill extends Section 702 of FISA, which allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreigners outside the U.S., setting a new expiration date of April 20, 2028. This provides a roughly two-year reauthorization window for these surveillance powers.
• The bill generally prohibits warrantless access to Americans' communications collected under Section 702, requiring a court order, emergency authorization, consent, or a narrow cybersecurity exception before FBI or other agency personnel can view the content of queries about U.S. persons.
• Intelligence agencies and law enforcement would be barred from purchasing Americans' personal data from data brokers without a court order or specific exception such as emergencies, consent, or employment screening. Evidence obtained in violation of these rules could not be used in court.
• The bill strengthens oversight of FISA activities by requiring mandatory DOJ audits of FBI queries every 180 days, periodic Inspector General compliance audits every three years, escalating disciplinary consequences for FBI employees who violate query rules, and expanded amicus curiae participation in FISA Court proceedings.
• New criminal penalties are created for anyone who knowingly submits a false statement or material omission to the FISA Court, and the bill bans "parallel construction" where the government recreates evidence through other means to hide that it originally came from FISA surveillance.
• The bill rolls back the expanded definition of "electronic communication service provider" that was added in recent FISA reauthorization, sunsetting that broader definition on December 31, 2026, and limiting the types of entities that can receive surveillance directives.

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