IC Oversight & Policy — 2026-08-17

US Courts to Publicly Disclose Government Use of Spyware in Wiretaps for First Time

BLUFNarrow scope and a three-year reporting lag ensure this disclosure establishes a transparency precedent without meaningfully constraining current surveillance operations or exposing their full scale.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts told Senator Ron Wyden this week it will begin publicly reporting a new "spyware/hacking" category in its annual Wiretap Report, covering judicial authorizations for network investigative techniques 123. The disclosure starts with the 2028 report, to be published in 2029, and an AO spokesperson confirmed the change to TechCrunch, citing the need to update reporting forms and procedures first 1. TechCrunch reported that no such public accounting currently exists, despite the FBI's use of hacking tools and spyware in investigations dating to at least 1998 1. The new category will cover only real-time interception of communications such as Signal and WhatsApp messages, not the separate legal process used to extract data already stored on a seized device 13.

Analysis
Judicial spyware disclosure begins with the 2028 Wiretap Report, published 2029, establishing the first public accounting of judicially authorized real-time interception hacking, but the three-year lag and narrow scope limit near-term oversight value. The category excludes forensic extraction from seized devices, the more commonly used technique, so the eventual figure will undercount total government hacking and functions as a floor rather than a comprehensive total. TechCrunch's reporting anchors the story, with secondary outlets adding no independent corroboration. The AO's procedural rationale, updating reporting forms, may reflect genuine administrative lag, or the delay could serve as a calculated concession timed to ease pressure on Wyden's broader Government Surveillance Transparency Act without conceding binding legislative change.

3 sources

US courts will start publishing how often the government uses spyware - TechCrunch
U.S. judiciary to publicly disclose use of hacking tools in wiretaps starting 2029 - SC Media
US Courts Will Start Publishing How Often Police Use Phone Spyware - AndroidPure