Wiretap Report 2016

U.S. Courts released its annual wiretap report for 2016. Some of the findings include:

  • 3,168 wiretaps were reported as authorized.
  • 1,551 wiretaps were authorized by federal judges and 1,617 were authorized by state judges.
  • Two wiretap applications were reported as denied.
  • The total number of federal and state wiretaps decreased 24 percent from 2015.
  • The number of federally approved wiretaps increased by 11 percent.
  • The number of state-approved wiretaps decreased by 41 percent.
  • Wiretap applications in six states (California, New York, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, and New Jersey) accounted for 82 percent of all state wiretaps.

Read the full report.