FBI and NSA Can Search Americans' Phone and Email Records Without Court Permission

U.S. spy agencies can search through a database of nearly 350,000 foreign people's communications—which often includes messages from Americans—without needing a judge's approval or a warrant. This happens under Section 702 of a law called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which lets the government collect information on foreign targets living outside the U.S. However, the collected data frequently catches American citizens' communications in the process. Congress is now working on bipartisan bills (supported by both parties) to change this by requiring court approval before agencies can search for and access Americans' information within this database.