This bill significantly increases transparency around government surveillance by requiring federal and state courts to unseal criminal surveillance orders (such as wiretaps and GPS tracking warrants) after execution, creating searchable public records of surveillance cases with key details like investigating agencies and crime types. The legislation mandates that law enforcement notify surveillance subjects within seven days before or after conducting surveillance of their communications and records, closing previous loopholes that allowed warrantless access to customer data. Courts can only temporarily seal orders for up to 180 days if prosecutors prove specific harms like endangered lives or witness tampering, with longer extensions requiring heightened judicial justification. Most provisions take effect two years after enactment, though state and tribal courts without electronic docketing systems receive four years to comply, and the bill ties participation in federal wiretapping procedures to state and tribal court compliance with these new transparency standards.
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