New government numbers show that the FBI has made a huge cut in how often it looks up information about Americans in a powerful surveillance system. In 2023, the FBI searched the database 57,094 times to find information on people in the United States. But in 2024, that number fell dramatically to just 5,518 searches. This steep drop was shared in a report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The system the FBI used is part of a special surveillance program called Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This program lets the U.S. government collect emails, phone calls, and messages from people in other countries, even when they are talking to people in the United States. The idea is to catch threats from overseas, but sometimes it ends up including Americans’ private conversations too.
Officials in national security say this tool is important to keep the country safe. However, privacy groups have raised alarms, saying it invades Americans’ rights. In past years, the FBI was found to have searched the database improperly many times. This made lawmakers and the public worried about privacy.
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New Rules Bring Big Changes
According to the report, one major reason for the drop is new rules that were put in place. The FBI now has to explain why it is searching the database for an American’s information before it is allowed to do so. This rule makes sure that searches are done only when necessary.
Looking back, this is part of a bigger trend. In 2022, the FBI made nearly 120,000 searches involving Americans. That number was cut by more than half in 2023 and then dropped even more in 2024. The changes come after a lot of debate in Congress, where leaders argued about how to balance safety with privacy rights.
Even though the surveillance law almost expired during these debates, it was renewed last year. This happened after strong discussions about adding more protections for citizens. The law lets the government keep gathering foreign intelligence but with tighter checks on how data about Americans is handled.
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A History of Concerns
This surveillance program has been around since 2008. It was created to help the U.S. gather information on foreign threats without having to get a warrant each time. But over time, it was revealed that the FBI and other agencies sometimes used it to look up information about people in the U.S. without good reason.
The report points out that past problems included FBI analysts running searches that were improper or unjustified. These missteps led to criticism from people on both sides of politics. Both privacy advocates and some government leaders agreed that there needed to be better controls.
Every year, a report is released to give the public a look at how the government is using its surveillance powers. This latest report shows that the tougher rules are working to cut back on unnecessary searches. The hope among privacy groups is that this trend will continue to protect people’s rights while still allowing the government to do its job.
For now, the big takeaway is clear: the FBI’s use of the intelligence database to look up Americans has dropped sharply. With new rules in place, the numbers show a serious effort to prevent misuse and protect privacy, while the system remains a key tool for national security.
