Changes from the FBI and Congress have “significantly reduced” the number of noncompliant searches under a powerful surveillance authority, a Justice Department watchdog reported Thursday.

A review from the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General looked at Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the U.S. government to collect digital communications of foreigners located outside the country.

The authority has drawn criticism from lawmakers, as it allows the government to sweep up the communications of Americans and allows the FBI to search through data without a warrant, using information such as an email address.

Searches of Americans’ information became a focal point of a bitter and prolonged debate in the 118th Congress that pitted pri

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