Sponsors (4)
The bill increases transparency, notice, and standardized reporting about government access to electronic data and provides limited implementation funding, but does so at the cost of added administrative and IT burdens, potential exposure of sensitive information, legal patchworks during rollout, and continued long secrecy windows for some types of surveillance.
Members of the public, researchers, and policymakers gain substantially increased, machine-readable transparency into how courts and judges authorize and use criminal-surveillance tools because courts and the Administrative Office must publish searchable applications, certifications, inventories, and annual reports.
People whose communications or accounts are targeted (and account holders generally) receive stronger notice protections and more timely notification when providers voluntarily disclose content or records, reducing prolonged secret surveillance for many cases.
Courts and oversight bodies receive standardized inventories and clearer reporting when providers disclose or search data beyond authorized bounds, improving detection of over-collection and producing more consistent oversight data.
Individuals whose data are subject to surveillance (and third parties) risk exposure of sensitive personal information and potentially identifying details because applications, orders, inventories, and some provider information will be published or made searchable online.
The statute allows lengthy delayed‑notice periods (e.g., up to 180 days plus an automatic 180‑day extension and potentially further extensions), meaning individuals and providers can remain unaware of government access to data for long periods.
Courts, the Administrative Office, and service providers face added administrative and IT costs to prepare searchable records, machine-readable reports, inventories, certifications, and to comply with new procedural rules — costs that fall on providers, courts, and ultimately taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Requires public, text-searchable publication and machine-readable judicial reporting for many criminal surveillance orders, tightens notice and inventory rules, and funds court implementation.
Official title: Amend title 18, United States Code, to require that notice of criminal surveillance orders be eventually provided to targets, to reform the use of non-disclosure orders to providers, to prohibit indefinite sealing of criminal surveillance orders, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 25, 2026 by Ronald Lee Wyden · Last progress February 25, 2026
Creates new public-access and reporting requirements for criminal surveillance orders and related records, strengthens notice and inventory rules when providers disclose electronic data, and requires courts to file machine-readable reports about surveillance orders. It phases in most requirements after a two-year delay (with limited 4-year exceptions for some State and Tribal courts), funds court implementation through grants and appropriations, and directs the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to publish annual public summaries of the data.