American Civil Liberties Union

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), enacted by Congress after the abuses of the 1960s and 70s, regulates the government’s conduct of intelligence surveillance inside the United States. It generally requires the government to seek warrants before monitoring Americans’ communications. In 2001, however, President Bush authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to launch a warrantless wiretapping program, and in 2008 Congress ratified and expanded that program, giving the NSA almost unchecked power to monitor Americans’ international phone calls and emails.

Less than an hour after President Bush signed the 2008 amendments, the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the law’s constitutionality. Because the 2008 amendments are scheduled to sunset in December, the ACLU is also calling on Congress to Fix FISA by prohibiting dragnet surveillance, mandating more transparency about the government’s surveillance activities, and strengthening safeguards for privacy.

Key Resources

• Amnesty v. Clapper, the ACLU’s constitutional challenge to the 2008 FISA Amendments Act.

• ACLU v. DOJ, the ACLU’s Freedom of Information Act suit for information about the use and abuse of the 2008 FISA Amendments Act.

• Backgrounder: Why the 2008 FISA Amendments Act is unconstitutional.