US courts spyware wiretap data will soon be public for the first time
The FBI has been using hacking techniques and spyware since at least 1998, but to date there is no public data counting how often the feds deploy them. That is about to change—at least for real-time communication interceptions.
Starting in 2029, the U.S. judiciary will publicly disclose precisely how many times judges authorized the use of wiretaps carried out with hacking tools and spyware. These techniques fall under what federal authorities call network investigating techniques, or NITs.
What the Annual Wiretap Reports Currently Cover
For nearly two decades, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has released annual Wiretap Reports. These documents detail:
How many wiretaps were authorized each year
Whether federal or state judges issued them
Which states conducted the wiretaps
The types of crimes under investigation
Other related statistics
Wiretaps give law enforcement real-time access to phone calls, messages, and other communications. Because they are highly invasive, judges require strong evidence of criminal activity before approval. As a result, wiretaps are authorized far less frequently than search warrants—but they can still capture massive volumes of communications.
In one past case, a single wiretap enabled a surveillance operation that collected millions of text messages over three months.
New Category: Spyware and Hacking Surveillance
The Administrative Office recently told Democratic Senator Ron Wyden that it will begin tracking a new “spyware/hacking” surveillance category. This change will take effect with the 2028 Wiretap Report, which will be published in 2029.
A spokesperson for the Administrative Office confirmed the update to TechCrunch:
“The Wiretap Report is compiled from individual forms submitted from throughout the country and throughout the year. Before the new data can appear in the annual report, reporting forms and procedures need to be updated to accommodate the new categories.”
What This US Courts Spyware Wiretap Data Will—and Won’t—Reveal
It is important to understand the scope of this new reporting. The US courts spyware wiretap data will provide unprecedented transparency, but it has clear limitations.
What Will Be Counted
The new data will show when authorities use spyware to intercept communications in real time. This includes:
Signal and WhatsApp calls
Encrypted messaging content
Other live communication data
What Will Not Be Counted
The US courts spyware wiretap data will not cover situations where authorities remotely hack into a phone to extract stored data, such as:
Photos and images
Files and documents
Location history
Other stored information
The first scenario is a wiretap, which requires a specific legal process. The second is considered a search, which falls under different legal rules and is not included in the Wiretap Report.
Why This US Courts Spyware Wiretap Data Matters for Transparency
Senator Wyden, who has long criticized what he calls “the unnecessary secrecy around electronic surveillance orders,” has pushed for this US courts spyware wiretap data since 2017. He celebrated the judiciary’s decision.
“The American people remain largely in the dark about the different ways that the government is spying on them,” Wyden said in a statement to TechCrunch. “I am thankful that the federal courts agreed to collect and publish data about hacking, but Congress must go further and pass my Government Surveillance Transparency Act.”
That draft bill was reintroduced earlier this year.
Privacy experts view this development as a major victory for government accountability.
Expert Reactions to the New Transparency Measure
Eva Galperin, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and an expert on government spyware, said:
“Up until now, we have only been able to guess at the size of the problem.”
She emphasized that public statistics will make it harder for authorities to deny spyware use when abuses occur.
“Being able to point to a report saying that spyware was used X number of times will help with accountability, especially if it turns out that number is quite high. It’s hard to say that you’re using spyware as a surgical tool when you’ve deployed it tens of thousands of times.”
Brett Max Kaufman, ACLU
Brett Max Kaufman, senior counsel in the ACLU’s Center for Democracy, called the change:
“An important and long-overdue step forward for transparency around government hacking and should lead to better-informed policy and law around these issues going forward.”
International Precedents for Spyware Transparency
The United States is not the first country to pursue this kind of openness. Italy already publishes detailed data on government spyware use. In 2023, Italian authorities deployed spyware against 4,321 targets, according to publicly available figures.
What This US Courts Spyware Wiretap Data Means for Privacy and Oversight
This new reporting requirement represents a significant shift in government surveillance transparency. Once the US courts spyware wiretap data becomes public, it will:
Provide concrete numbers for public debate
Enable better oversight of law enforcement practices
Help identify potential abuses or overuse
Inform policy decisions around surveillance technology
Bring the U.S. closer to transparency standards seen in other democracies
While the data will not capture all forms of government hacking, it marks an important first step. Senator Wyden and privacy advocates continue to push for broader transparency through legislation.
The public will have to wait until 2029 to see the first results from this US courts spyware wiretap data, but the groundwork for accountability is now in place.
