- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Title VII lapses at midnight, but Section 702 monitoring continues under an existing court certification.
- Congress failed to pass a renewal, so the statutory text expires. The FISA Court, however, issued a yearlong certification on March 17, 2026, that remains valid until March 2027. That certification authorizes the same electronic‑communication collection the law normally permits, meaning agencies can keep gathering data without a new statute.
- The continuity matters because it thwarts the narrative that the program will “go dark” without legislative action. Advocates warn that fear‑mongering could push a rushed reauthorisation lacking privacy safeguards. The existing certification shows that lawmakers anticipated lapses and built a procedural backstop, leaving the real debate about reforms untouched.
- In short, the sunset is mostly symbolic; the real lever now is the court‑issued certification, not the expired text.