The FISA Amendments Act, passed in 2008 and reauthorized in 2012, gives the National Security Agency almost unchecked power to monitor Americans’ international phone calls and emails. On October 29, 2012, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the ACLU’s challenge to the law. In February 2013, the Supreme Court dismissed the ACLU's lawsuit.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), enacted by Congress after the abuses of the 1960s and 70s, regulates the government’s conduct of intelligence surveillance inside the United States. It generally requires the government to seek warrants before monitoring Americans’ communications. In 2001, however, President Bush authorized the NSA to launch a warrantless wiretapping program, and in 2008 Congress ratified and expanded that program.