# Plain Language Summary: Protect Our Civil Liberties Act

This bill would eliminate two major surveillance laws that have allowed the government to collect information on Americans since the early 2000s. The first is the USA PATRIOT Act, passed after 9/11, which expanded the government's ability to monitor phone records, emails, and financial transactions. The second is the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which allowed the government to collect communications of foreign targets even when those communications included Americans. If this bill passes, the government would have to destroy any information it collected under these laws about U.S. citizens that isn't connected to an active investigation.

The bill also adds new restrictions on how the government can spy on Americans going forward. Most importantly, it would require the government to get a warrant based on probable cause before collecting any information about U.S. citizens through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which is the legal framework for national security surveillance. It would also ban the government from forcing tech companies to build "backdoors" into encryption or privacy features on phones and computers—meaning the government couldn't require Apple, Google, or other companies to create ways for it to bypass security protections. Additionally, the bill would prevent the government from targeting Americans under Executive Order 12333 (a separate surveillance authority) without a warrant.

The bill includes protections for whistleblowers who work in intelligence agencies and want to report illegal surveillance or waste of taxpayer money. These employees could report concerns to Congress, the Comptroller General, or the Inspector General without fear of retaliation. The bill also requires annual audits to check whether the government is following these new rules. Finally, it would strengthen the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (the secret court that approves surveillance) by allowing it to hire technical experts to better understand how surveillance technology actually works.