"The 702 authority, which permits the NSA, FBI and other agencies to access foreigners' communications overseas without a court warrant, can incidentally sweep up communications of Americans talking to targeted persons, raising major civil liberties concerns. The number of U.S. person communications gathered under 702 is often a key statistic cited by civil society organizations that have long pushed for major reforms to the law."
"In 2024, only 38% of queries "returned either content or non-content 702-acquired information," the letter says, adding that the figure dropped to 28% in 2025. "Content" refers to the substance of the communications, such as the actual text of emails, chat messages or recorded phone calls. Conversely, "non-content" information is metadata about communications, including details like the email addresses or phone numbers used, IP addresses or the time a message was transmitted."
"Collected 702 communications are stored in classified databases, where analysts query them for foreign intelligence. Search terms - known as "selectors" - can include names, phone numbers or email addresses of targeted individuals. Analysts may query stored U.S. person data when they believe doing so is reasonably likely to return useful information for investigations."
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act permits the NSA, FBI, and other agencies to access foreigners' communications overseas without court warrants, but incidentally collects communications of Americans contacting targeted persons. FBI searches of U.S. person data under this authority rose from 5,518 in December 2024 to 7,413 in November 2025, representing a 35% increase. However, the effectiveness of these searches declined, with only 28% of queries in 2025 returning either content or non-content information, down from 38% in 2024. Content refers to actual communication substance, while non-content includes metadata such as email addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses. Civil liberties organizations have long advocated for reforms to this controversial surveillance authority.
#section-702-fisa-surveillance #fbi-data-searches #civil-liberties-concerns #us-person-communications #foreign-intelligence-collection
Read at Nextgov.com
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