EFF Backs the Open Courts Act of 2026 to End PACER Fees

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has joined a broad coalition of organizations backing the Open Courts Act of 2026, legislation that would modernize the US federal courts' electronic filing systems and end the fees the public pays to read court documents. The group announced its support in a blog post by staff writer Joe Mullin published on June 18, 2026.

A paywall on public documents

Court records belong to the public, yet anyone who wants to search or read federal filings through PACER — the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system — is usually required to pay fees to search for and view documents. EFF argues those charges have long acted as a barrier that makes it hard, especially for people on low incomes, to see and understand the work produced by their own public servants.

Supporters of the bill note that PACER currently collects more than $150 million a year in fees from the public, even though the underlying court records are public documents.

What the bill would change

The Open Courts Act would replace the aging PACER and CM/ECF systems with a modern, unified platform designed to improve public access, strengthen cybersecurity and reduce long-term costs. It is also meant to make court records easier to find, access and understand.

EFF notes that this is not a new fight. More than a decade ago the organization criticized PACER's paywalls and the removal of some court records from online access, arguing that the public should not have to pay to read the law and the judicial decisions that shape it.

Who is behind the push

The bill builds on a similar proposal, also supported by EFF, that previously won bipartisan backing in the Senate Judiciary Committee but did not become law before the end of the congressional session. Alongside EFF, the Open Courts Act is supported by Fix the Court, the group leading the campaign; the Free Law Project, which maintains RECAP, software that has built a large public archive of legal opinions and other court records; and civil society groups, open government watchdogs and media organizations.

"Public access to the courts is a cornerstone of democratic accountability," EFF writes, urging the removal of unnecessary barriers to court records and calling for the federal judiciary's technology to be brought into the modern era.