According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, federal court records have long been locked behind a paywall. The Public Access to Court Electronic Records system—called PACER—charges fees to search and view court filings, creating a barrier especially for low-income people seeking transparency in a judicial system they already fund through taxes. The Open Courts Act of twenty twenty-six, which EFF and civil rights groups are supporting, would eliminate these fees and replace aging court software with a modern, unified platform. The current system collects over one hundred fifty million dollars annually from the public while serving public documents—a financial barrier to democratic accountability. The bill would make court records easier to find and understand while modernizing cybersecurity and reducing long-term government costs. This isn't new territory for EFF, which has advocated for court record access for more than a decade. The bill builds on similar bipartisan proposals that previously won committee support. Public access to courts is foundational to democracy. The Open Courts Act would be a significant step toward eliminating barriers to the information that shapes American law.

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