FBI Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Spy on Americans Without Court Approval: Watchdog

The FBI has been unable to prove that warrantless searches of the database for information on Americans have yielded ‘unique value in criminal investigations.’

FBI Director Christopher Wray prepares to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee in Washington on Nov. 15, 2022. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The FBI and other intelligence agencies should need court approval to access spy data on Americans, a watchdog says.

Congress should require authorization from the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for analysts from the FBI and three other agencies to search for information on Americans in a vast database containing information collected through warrantless searches, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board said on Sept. 28.