Rand Paul Demands End to Government’s Warrantless Spying on Americans

Clear Facts

• Senator Rand Paul has introduced the Fourth Amendment Restoration and Protection Act to end warrantless backdoor searches of Americans’ communications
• Two-thirds of Americans support requiring warrants for information collected under FISA, while only 16 percent oppose such protections
• Government agencies have been caught conducting mass surveillance of Americans and purchasing private data from brokers without warrants

From the beginning of his time in Washington, Senator Rand Paul has warned of vast government surveillance powers being used against Americans without warrants and outside constitutional protections. Even before many revelations of government abuses under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) were disclosed, Paul recognized the threat to American liberty.

Section 702 of FISA is intended for use against hostile foreign countries and terrorists to protect the American people from overseas threats. But intelligence agencies have twisted that authority to spy on innocent Americans, rummaging through their texts, calls, and emails without warrants merely because they incidentally sweep them up.

This practice is often referred to as a backdoor search. It is blatantly unconstitutional and incompatible with the Fourth Amendment.

Senator Paul introduced the Fourth Amendment Restoration and Protection Act for this exact reason. This legislation will end secret warrantless backdoor searches and finally bring FISA in line with the Constitution. As Congress is poised to consider another extension to FISA, Paul is demanding these urgent reforms.

In the midst of this debate over FISA, it’s important to recall that Washington has repeatedly dismissed warnings about FISA abuses. It isn’t happening, reformers were told. There were unconcerned assurances from the Obama administration and from within Congress that secret oversight of intelligence agencies was working, that there was no mass surveillance of Americans, and that changing the status quo would somehow jeopardize national security.

None of these assurances were true. There was mass surveillance that included Americans, and there was bulk collection of Americans’ communications. The government has brazenly thwarted the Constitution through loopholes and legal maneuvering, made possible by courts that rely on interpretations of law predating the digital revolution.

There have been improper searches of innocent Americans. The government doesn’t even need to collect Americans’ information to search it—it can simply buy it from data brokers. The practice of selling customer data to the government should be illegal, and there are restrictions in existing law, but the legal architecture is too old and doesn’t properly reflect the digital nature of modern record-keeping.

This is why a warrant requirement is so important.

The American people now see that the constitutional wall of protection around their rights has a wide-open gate. About two-thirds of Americans now support a warrant requirement for information collected under FISA, while only 16 percent oppose it. The momentum is toward reform, which is why congressional opponents of reform, including the leadership of both political parties, have collaborated with the surveillance state to co-opt the FISA reform momentum.

Instead of adopting strong protections like a warrant requirement, they push for illusory, pretend reforms. The 2024 FISA extension bill ignored popular reform proposals introduced in Congress—including a warrant requirement—and instead included a collection of “reforms” that either codified already-existing practices or actually weakened protections, according to an assessment published by the Brennan Center.

After pushing empty reforms in 2024, the same figures are now calling for a “clean” extension of FISA. In Washington-speak, a “clean” extension means no reform. Congress must stand firm against such a plan.

At one time, these figures told reformers they needed a clean extension of FISA because abuses weren’t happening. Now they concede that it’s happening, but claim it’s good. At least they’re being more honest now.

Congress cannot pass the buck again. The solution is to restore the constitutional standard: if the government wants to search an American’s private data, it must get a warrant based on probable cause. It’s what the American people want. It’s what the Constitution demands.

U.S. Senator Rand Paul, M.D., (R-KY) is one of the nation’s leading advocates for liberty. Senator Paul serves as the chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. He has represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate since 2011. He and his wife, Kelley, live in Bowling Green and are the parents of three sons.

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