House subcommittee hearing presses for warrant requirement on searches of FISA section 702 data as oversight gaps persist

A House Judiciary subcommittee opened a hearing on federal government surveillance on October 12, pressing for tighter limits on warrantless searches of Americans’ communications in databases collected under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

The panel’s members and witnesses focused on proposals to require a warrant before the government can query U.S. person identifiers in 702 data, and on shortcomings in oversight and auditing that they said have allowed repeated abuses. “The Fourth Amendment guarantees all Americans the right to be free of unreasonable government searches and seizures,” said Chairman Biggs in his opening remarks, summarizing the rationale for reform.

Why it matters: Section 702 authorizes bulk collection overseas but has repeatedly been used, officials and witnesses said, to query communications involving Americans. Multiple panelists and a recent district‑court ruling in the Eastern District of New York have treated such queries as Fourth Amendment events that can require a separate probable‑cause showing. Several witnesses told the subcommittee the combination of broad collection, frequent internal queries and gaps in oversight threatens civil liberties and public trust in intelligence agencies.

Most of the witnesses urged…