Noah Feldman, Columnist

Congress Has a Rare Chance to Stop Warrantless Searches

April 16, 2026 at 9:30 AM UTC

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

Which way to more privacy?
Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP

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As Americans increasingly worry about total government surveillance in the age of AI and ICE, Congress has a rare opportunity to protect them from warrantless government searches — if it acts now.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is set to expire next Monday, and the House could vote on its renewal as soon as Thursday. The law, which allows searches that target non-Americans outside the US, effectively permits the government to collect the private information of Americans indirectly. And it doesn’t bar the government from buying data that it would be unlawful for the government to collect itself or get directly from phone and internet providers.