Congress restricts warrantless surveillance of Americans' data and communications.
H.R. 7816 — Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act of 2026 · Filed by Andy Biggs (R-AZ) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 5, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This bill restricts law enforcement and intelligence agencies from conducting warrantless searches of Americans' communications and personal data collected by FISA Section 702, requires court orders before purchasing personal information from data brokers, and strengthens oversight of surveillance by requiring disclosure to courts and Congress. It also expands the role of privacy advocates in FISA court proceedings and limits immunity for companies that assist government surveillance without a court order.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a prohibition on warrantless government surveillance of U.S. persons' communications and data, coupled with mandatory court and congressional oversight. It is fundamentally a civil liberties and privacy protection measure that constrains government power.
What the text implies
- Section 102's sunset clause (Dec 31, 2026) means expanded protections for certain data broker queries expire unless Congress reauthorizes, creating a cliff that could restore broader government access to third-party data.
- Section 103's limitation on directives to 'covered electronic communication service providers' depends on declassification of redacted FISA court opinions; if declassification is denied, the scope of the restriction remains opaque to the public.
- Section 104's expansion of amicus curiae (privacy advocate) participation in FISA court is mandatory only when courts find it 'appropriate'—courts retain discretion to exclude privacy advocates from sensitive cases.
- Section 206 makes FISA the 'exclusive means' for acquiring U.S. persons' location data and web history, but only for 'foreign intelligence purposes'—domestic law enforcement may still access this data under other legal authorities.
- Section 207's limitation on immunity for companies assisting surveillance applies only to emergency assistance lasting beyond 48 hours or after a court order is denied; companies retain immunity for brief emergency assistance.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Ordinary Americans gain explicit legal protection against warrantless government searches of their communications and personal data, with narrow exceptions only for emergencies, consent, or cybersecurity threats. The bill also strengthens judicial and congressional oversight of surveillance, making government surveillance more transparent and accountable.
Named in the bill
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, Attorney General, Director of National Intelligence, Congressional Intelligence Committees, Senate and House Judiciary Committees, Data brokers (third-party information providers), Electronic communication service providers, Remote computing service providers, Intermediary service providers
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 7 Republicans.
- Mar 5, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Mar 5, 2026 — Referred to House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
6 lobbying clients named this bill on 6 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,170,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 82% of bills with at least one filing.
Andy Biggs, the sponsor, reported $9,100 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Relx Inc — $750,000 on 1 filing
- Americans for Prosperity — $660,000 on 1 filing
- Motorola Solutions Inc — $520,000 on 1 filing
- Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability, Inc. — $120,000 on 1 filing
- Demand Progress Action, Inc — $70,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (45,551 characters) on Sep 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,985 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-09-25.
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