The surveillance law Congress can’t quit \u2014 and can’t explain | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Congress is debating whether to extend Section 702 surveillance powers, but two years after major reforms, there's little agreement on what they've achieved.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/section-702-fisa-surveillance-law-renewal-congress-debate\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The surveillance law Congress can't quit \u2014 and can't explain\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Congress is debating whether to extend Section 702 surveillance powers, but two years after major reforms, there's little agreement on what they've achieved.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/section-702-fisa-surveillance-law-renewal-congress-debate\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta 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<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--top ad--top-mobile\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--newsletter js-stickybar\" readability=\"0.82\"> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"26.788432267884\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"36.447115384615\">\n<p> Congress overhauled Section 702 in 2024 with 56 changes. Now, as the law nears expiration, supporters and critics can\u2019t even agree on what the numbers show. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/88651\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States Kash Patel is seen in the Capitol near a meeting on the administration’s use of FISA authority on March 18, 2026. (Photo by Alex Kent\/The Washington Post via Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"106.57605085872\"><body readability=\"223.81441182509\"><\/p>\n<p>Congress is grappling with renewal of a surveillance law set to expire at the end of this month that critics say is a mystery on how much of a difference it has made for controversial government spying authorities \u2014 for better or worse.<\/p>\n<p>The 2024 law reauthorized so-called Section 702 powers of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which authorizes warrantless surveillance of electronic communications of foreign targets. Most controversially, the law allows U.S. officials to search (\u201cquery\u201d) those communications databases using Americans\u2019 personal information, as long as the American is in contact with someone overseas, which raises significant privacy concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Backers of the 2024 law, known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/R48592\">Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act <\/a>(RISAA), point to 56 changes it made to deal with criticisms of Section 702, following a period where abuses came to light, including hundreds of thousands of improper searches. At the same time, the law made changes that some feared could actually expand Section 702 powers.<\/p>\n<p>The House voted to extend the law as-is for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/17\/nx-s1-5788573\/house-extends-surveillance-powers-for-10-days\">10 days<\/a> early Friday. The Senate then <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/congress-foreign-surveillance-fisa-spy-agencies-3dc3e84c3b9b03f52b84dfb3b01fc770\">did the same<\/a>. The Trump administration has sought a 180-day \u201cclean\u201d reauthorization.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As Congress weighs potential extensions of the 2024 law without making changes to it, \u201cI don\u2019t think we know\u201d what good has come of it, said Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Brennan Center for Justice\u2019s liberty and national security program. By the same token, it\u2019s difficult to know whether some of the expansion fears have come to fruition, she said: \u201cWe don\u2019t have reliable information on this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Added Jake Laperruque of the Center for Democracy and Technology: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of black boxes here.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-examining-past-changes\">Examining Past Changes<\/h4>\n<p>Both Goitein and Laperruque are skeptical of any positive change from RISAA, though, and have long advocated for a warrant requirement for U.S. person searches. Intelligence agencies have resisted that addition, claiming that it would dramatically slow down time-sensitive national security investigations.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, Glenn Gerstell, former general counsel at the National Security Agency, said RISAA constituted \u201cthe most significant set of reforms to the statute since its adoption in 2008.\u201d and that \u201cthose reforms have had a dramatic effect.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>One major point of dispute is to what degree the number of U.S. person searches dropped, particularly because of a conclusion in last year\u2019s Justice Department <a href=\"https:\/\/oig.justice.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/26-002_0.pdf?inline=1#page=57\">inspector general report <\/a>finding that an \u201cadvanced filtering tool generated queries that were not tracked by the FBI.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>As the report outlines, an FBI system has an \u201c\u2018advanced filter function\u2019 that allows users to select a specific FBI casefile number or \u2018facility\u2019 (e.g., a phone number or email address), using a drop-down menu or search bar, to review communications with targeted facilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis functionality enables users to select from lists of \u2018participants\u2019 in communication with targeted facilities and review communications of those participants.In or around August 2024,\u201d the report continues. The National Security Division of the Justice Department \u201cbecame aware of the participants filter function in [the system] and was concerned that searches conducted through use of the participants filter constituted separate queries that must satisfy the query standard and comply with all query procedural requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By the intelligence community\u2019s count, the number of U.S. person searches has otherwise mostly declined even going back to before the 2024 law\u2019s passage: 119,383 in 2022, 57,094 in 2023, 5,518 in 2024 and 7,413 in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is quite clear that the searches that were run using this filter function met the statutory definition of queries, and yet the FBI for some significant period of time decided to not count them as queries,\u201d Goitein said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Laperruque, deputy director of CDT\u2019s security and surveillance project, said an audit mandate in the 2024 law was potentially useful, but hasn\u2019t proven to be in reality.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt least it should mean that it should help try to detect abuse if it is happening,\u201d he said. \u201cThe problem there, though, is you\u2019re still relying on the FBI to properly log all of its quarries and hand them over for DOJ to be checked, which hasn\u2019t happened. You\u2019re trusting DOJ and the executive to engage in self-policing, and that\u2019s something where folks rightfully have a lot of skepticism based on how DOJ has conducted itself recently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gerstell, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, points to numerous reviews \u2014 including a staff report from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) \u2014 that indicate a drop in U.S. person searches. It\u2019s the biggest change of RISAA, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most significant one is a very substantial drop in the number of queries of the database for U.S. person information, which has been a big focus for privacy advocates, and there\u2019s been a dramatic drop, so much so that both the Inspector General for the Department of Justice and the staff of the PCLOB have said, \u2018I wonder if we\u2019re overdoing it.\u2019 \u2026 Every single one of them presents those numbers, without caveat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On the advanced filter function count, Gerstell acknowledged the ambiguity, but referred to reports that said, as he summarized, \u201cIf they had been considered queries, it appears that most would have been compliant anyway\u2026 because they were a subset of something that was already compliant. But we don\u2019t know if any of them were noncompliant, and we don\u2019t have the data.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>On the other side of the RISAA debate, critics argued that its revised definition of \u201celectronic communications service provider\u201d could dramatically expand surveillance to include businesses like coffee shops or landlords. The reported, but formally undisclosed, real target of the change was data centers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a pretty big expansion with a lot of potential abuse,\u201d Laperruque said. But \u201cwe don\u2019t really know much about how it\u2019s changed\u201d anything, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, sought to advance <a href=\"https:\/\/therecord.media\/section-702-renewal-ecsps-mark-warner\">clarifying language<\/a> about that subject after RISAA\u2019s passage, and the Biden administration said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/deeplinks\/2024\/04\/us-senate-and-biden-administration-shamefully-renew-and-expand-fisa-section-702-0\">it would confine<\/a> the provision\u2019s use to the kind of undisclosed businesses that prompted the provision in the first place. Laperreque noted that the Trump administration has made no such promises, and Warner\u2019s clarifying language never became law.<\/p>\n<p>The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) has issued its annual opinion re-certifying the Section 702 program for another year. However, the court reportedly took issue with the program\u2019s f filtering systems, saying that when such a system is used to look for information on Americans it must be counted as a query, subjecting it to additional restrictions. The Trump administration plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/16\/us\/politics\/fisa-ruling-appeal.html\">appeal the ruling<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Other critiques of the 2024 law include that many of its biggest changes weren\u2019t changes at all, but instead codifications of changes that then-FBI Director Christopher Wray had implemented. Abuses continued after those changes, Goitein said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Gerstell said enshrining those changes into law wasn\u2019t a bad thing. \u201cThe statute expressly codified some but not all of Wray reforms \u2014 and some went beyond that in many ways,\u201d he said. Those changes included requiring FBI deputy director approval of U.S. person queries that target elected officials, government appointees, political candidates or organizations, or media. Those were some of the more criticized prior targeting abuses.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-fight-still-ahead\">The fight still ahead<\/h4>\n<p>Republicans remain divided over extending the law. Some who had reservations about a clean reauthorization have come on board, such as Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who had taken issue with limitations on congressional attendance of FISC proceedings but since has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyden.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/wyden_fisa_dear_colleague.pdf\">had that concern resolved<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Others may have been swayed by direct lobbying from the Trump administration, including a <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116409146419851362\">social media post<\/a> from Trump himself this week, where he wrote, \u201cI am willing to risk the giving up of my Rights and Privileges as a Citizen for our Great Military and Country!\u201d Still others have had their position against a clean extension hardened by the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/repthomasmassie\/status\/2044831945431843086?s=46\">FISC court opinion<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyden.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/wyden_fisa_dear_colleague.pdf\">additional concerns<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Other issues have become enmeshed in the reauthorization debate, such as calls to block government agencies from purchasing information from data brokers. But \u201cthis has nothing to do with this authority,\u201d said George Barnes, former deputy director of the NSA. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But lawmakers of both parties have <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/trump-administration-section-702-fisa-renewal-senate-judiciary-hearing\/\">complained for months<\/a> that the administration was silent for too long as the law\u2019s expiration loomed.<\/p>\n<p>Only recently did the Trump administration share new examples of the law\u2019s successes, including that it had thwarted a 2024 terrorist attack on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/playbook\/2026\/04\/10\/the-2028-democratic-primary-turns-visible-00866648\">Taylor Swift concert<\/a>. Barnes said releasing such examples might offer a public case for the law, but has its downsides, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was always understanding but frustrated by the need to release examples just because they choreographed to the adversary what we could do,\u201d said Barnes, now Red Cell\u2019s cyber practice president. <\/p>\n<p>Reauthorizing Section 702 is urgent, though, for cybersecurity purposes, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of the impact that I saw the authority having over my time was in cybersecurity as well,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so when you have foreign entities that are targeting the U.S., or U.S. interests overseas, that authority can be positioned to help eliminate those activities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"7.7216117216117\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Tim Starks\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-card__details\" readability=\"10.901098901099\">\n<h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Tim Starks<\/h4>\n<p> Tim Starks is senior reporter at CyberScoop. His previous stops include working at The Washington Post, POLITICO and Congressional Quarterly. An Evansville, Ind. native, he’s covered cybersecurity since 2003. 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  <\/body> <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/section-702-fisa-surveillance-law-renewal-congress-debate\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The surveillance law Congress can’t quit \u2014 and can’t explain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6435,1720,1825,1805,4069,338,6436,669,1826,6437,6438,117,1352,6439,1591,304,439,268,1014,6440,269,2054,427,1181,6441,290],"tags":[6442,1725,1831,1806,4070,341,6443,671,1832,6444,6445,119,1354,6446,1592,308,443,274,1015,6447,275,2055,428,1183,6448,296],"class_list":["post-8544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brennan-center-for-justice","category-center-for-democracy-technology","category-center-for-democracy-and-technology","category-christopher-wray","category-chuck-grassley","category-department-of-justice-doj","category-elizabeth-goitein","category-federal-bureau-of-investigation-fbi","category-fisa","category-george-barnes","category-glenn-gerstell","category-government","category-inspector-general","category-jake-laperruque","category-mark-warner","category-national-security-agency-nsa","category-policy","category-privacy","category-privacy-and-civil-liberties-oversight-board-pclob","category-red-cell","category-section-702","category-senate-intelligence-committee","category-senate-judiciary-committee","category-surveillance","category-taylor-swift","category-trump-administration","tag-brennan-center-for-justice","tag-center-for-democracy-technology","tag-center-for-democracy-and-technology","tag-christopher-wray","tag-chuck-grassley","tag-department-of-justice-doj","tag-elizabeth-goitein","tag-federal-bureau-of-investigation-fbi","tag-fisa","tag-george-barnes","tag-glenn-gerstell","tag-government","tag-inspector-general","tag-jake-laperruque","tag-mark-warner","tag-national-security-agency-nsa","tag-policy","tag-privacy","tag-privacy-and-civil-liberties-oversight-board-pclob","tag-red-cell","tag-section-702","tag-senate-intelligence-committee","tag-senate-judiciary-committee","tag-surveillance","tag-taylor-swift","tag-trump-administration"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","chromenews-featured":"","chromenews-large":"","chromenews-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Cyber Scoop","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/cyberscoop\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/brennan-center-for-justice\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Brennan Center for Justice<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/center-for-democracy-technology\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Center for Democracy & Technology<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/center-for-democracy-and-technology\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Center for Democracy and Technology<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/christopher-wray\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Christopher Wray<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/chuck-grassley\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Chuck Grassley<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/department-of-justice-doj\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Department of Justice (DOJ)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/elizabeth-goitein\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Elizabeth Goitein<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/federal-bureau-of-investigation-fbi\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/fisa\/\" rel=\"category tag\">FISA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/george-barnes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">George Barnes<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/glenn-gerstell\/\" rel=\"category tag\">glenn gerstell<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/government\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Government<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/inspector-general\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Inspector general<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/jake-laperruque\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Jake Laperruque<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/mark-warner\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Mark Warner<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/national-security-agency-nsa\/\" rel=\"category tag\">National Security Agency (NSA)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/policy\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Policy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/privacy\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Privacy<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/privacy-and-civil-liberties-oversight-board-pclob\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/red-cell\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Red Cell<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/section-702\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Section 702<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/senate-intelligence-committee\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Senate Intelligence Committee<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/senate-judiciary-committee\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Senate Judiciary Committee<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/surveillance\/\" rel=\"category tag\">surveillance<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/taylor-swift\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Taylor Swift<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/trump-administration\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Trump administration<\/a>","tag_info":"Trump 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{"id":8544,"date":"2026-04-17T12:31:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=88651"},"modified":"2026-04-17T12:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:31:13","slug":"the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/17\/the-surveillance-law-congress-cant-quit-and-cant-explain\/","title":{"rendered":"The surveillance law Congress can\u2019t quit \u2014 and can\u2019t explain"},"content":{"rendered":"