Biden administration will ask court to allow extension of controversial surveillance program

The Biden administration will ask a court to renew the certification necessary to collect intelligence under a controversial surveillance program set to expire in April, a Justice Department (DOJ) official said.

The program, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), allows the government to spy on noncitizens located abroad without a warrant.

Congress must reauthorize the program, but the Justice Department’s imminent request to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court would avoid a “dangerous gap in collection” of intelligence, according to Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen. The request is consistent with the DOJ’s “standard annual practice,” he said in a statement.

“Section 702 of FISA is an indispensable national security tool, and we are committed to working closely with Congress to reauthorize it before it expires in April,” Olsen said.

Section 702 has been criticized because foreigners’ communications with Americans are often swept up in the government’s surveillance process.

House Republicans earlier this month unveiled a new package for reauthorizing and reforming the nation’s warrantless surveillance powers after the Republican conference previously failed to unify around competing packages, settling on a short-term extension last year.

The new package more closely aligns with the bill previously proposed by the House Intelligence Committee, as opposed to the competing Judiciary Committee bill. It notably does not include the Judiciary’s hope for a warrant requirement, a top priority for privacy advocates in Congress.

The Justice Department plans to file new certifications in early March, consistent with the timeline required by the law, Olsen said. The current certifications expire on April 12.