What a U.S. Spy Law’s Expiration Means for Gathering Intelligence Abroad

But supporters of the law say a lapse risks creating uncertainty for the government and the companies it relies on to provide information. If Congress has not renewed the law by 2027, they argue, the government could lose access to one of its most important intelligence-gathering tools.

Critics, however, contend that the warnings overstate the immediate risk and obscure the reason the law has become so politically contentious: Section 702 is aimed at foreign targets abroad, but it has been used to search Americans’ communications collected in the course of that surveillance.

Glenn Gerstell, a former general counsel of the National Security Agency (NSA), tells TIME the risk of a lapse should not be dismissed. Crucially, he explains, the intelligence acquired through Section 702 makes up roughly 70% of the President’s daily brief. 

“In other words, it covers everything from sanctions evaders, to narco-terrorists, to ISIS terrorists, to what Iran might be up to, North Korea, etc,” he says during a phone interview. “So it’s probably the critical national security tool. So if it lapses, it stands to reason that we’d be worried about what we’re missing.”