SAFE Act
Sponsored By: Senator Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Introduced
Summary
Tightens limits on U.S. person surveillance and boosts reporting and oversight. This bill would impose stricter controls on queries of U.S. persons, add new privacy limits on providers and data brokers, and expand judicial and inspector general review to increase transparency and accountability.
Show full summary
- Families and households: Would bar targeting United States persons or people reasonably believed to be in the U.S. and restrict queries, retention, and destruction of U.S.-person data. It would also require minimization and narrow exceptions for emergencies or consent.
- Technology providers and intermediaries: Would limit directives to specific types of providers, require summaries of services, add FISC and congressional notice and review, and curb law-enforcement purchases of data from data brokers with mandatory minimization and destruction rules. Some provider-directive rules sunset on Dec. 31, 2026.
- FBI, other agencies, and courts: Would require training, prior approvals, affirmative choices to include unminimized content, recordkeeping, mandatory audits, annual Attorney General and DNI reporting in April, stronger accountability for employee violations, and new criminal penalties for false statements or unauthorized disclosures.
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
7 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Tighter foreign-intelligence targeting rules
If enacted, the bill would limit Section 702 collection to non-U.S. persons located abroad and bar targeting U.S. persons or people believed to be inside the United States. It would redefine who counts as a covered person and which searches count as covered queries. The bill would also stop agency staff from viewing unminimized communications content obtained under Section 702 that would otherwise require a probable-cause warrant, except for narrow, listed exceptions. The bill would treat certain Title VII acquisitions as electronic surveillance for specified purposes.
Ban on government data-broker purchases
If enacted, the bill would bar covered federal, state, tribal, and local government entities from buying covered personal data about people in the United States, except for narrow exceptions. It would require minimization, destruction, and use limits when those narrow exceptions apply. The Director of National Intelligence must report on anticipated large datasets that will contain covered-person information within 180 days. Agencies would also face new Attorney General rules to minimize acquisition and retention of covered data and to limit queries about specific people except in listed situations.
Tighter accuracy, disclosure, and penalties
If enacted, the bill would require federal officers to follow defined accuracy procedures and certify they collected and reviewed supporting documentation for each factual assertion in FISA applications. Applicants must provide courts all material and exculpatory information. The bill would create criminal penalties for knowingly making false material statements or omissions to the FISA courts and for unauthorized disclosure of applications, while preserving whistleblower exceptions. The DOJ Inspector General would audit FISA compliance by mid-year after enactment and every three years, and the bill defines and requires guidance on when information is "derived from" surveillance.
More public reporting and court review
If enacted, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence would publish expanded annual reports each April with agency-by-agency counts of covered queries, accesses to unminimized content, use of exceptions, and other disaggregated statistics. The DNI would also report within 180 days on large datasets expected to contain covered-person information and post unclassified portions online. The bill would increase Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court oversight by requiring a court-approved random sample of targeting decisions, expanding use of amici with privacy expertise, and tightening declassification timelines for FISC opinions.
Protect intermediaries and user data
If enacted, the bill would make it unlawful for intermediary or ancillary service providers to knowingly disclose stored communications content or customer, sender, or recipient records to government entities while handling those communications. The bill would also require courts to use the same, strict standards before compelling covered personal data from non-online-service providers that would apply to online service providers. The bill would create a statutory "online service provider" definition to harmonize disclosure rules across providers.
Limit provider directives and immunity
If enacted, the bill would limit which electronic-communications providers may receive certain government directives and require the Attorney General to give those directives to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court within 7 days. The DNI and Attorney General must declassify and review provider-service types within 180 days. The bill would narrow civil immunity for providers who assist the government without a court order by requiring a written certification and limiting the immunity to the earliest of a court denial, obtaining the communication, or 48 hours after interception. The bill also ends certain prior FISA grandfathering 180 days after enactment and allows the Attorney General, coordinated with the DNI, to delay implementation of any provision for up to 180 days to build systems or hire/train staff.
New FBI query rules and discipline
If enacted, the bill would require FBI staff to complete training before running queries of Section 702 data and annual refreshers. For sensitive queries, FBI attorneys must provide prior approval except in exigent circumstances, and personnel must record written factual bases and query terms. The FBI Director would create a centralized system to track incidents, suspend access during reviews, document violations in personnel files, and apply escalating discipline for repeat or reckless violations. The Department of Justice must audit every covered query every 180 days and report results to congressional committees.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Lee, Mike [R-UT]
UT • R
Cosponsors
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
IL • D
Sponsored 2/23/2026
Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND]
ND • R
Sponsored 2/23/2026
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
HI • D
Sponsored 2/23/2026
Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT]
MT • R
Sponsored 2/25/2026
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
NJ • D
Sponsored 2/25/2026
Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY]
WY • R
Sponsored 3/11/2026
Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]
WI • D
Sponsored 3/11/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov