FISA
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
Details
FISA AMENDMENTS ACT
The FISA Amendments Act law broadened the authority for the USG to collect electronic communications inside the US for "foreign intelligence" and "anti-terrorism" purposes without requiring a warrant.
Under the FISA Amendments Act, which amended the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the USG must satisfy a special court that its procedures will target foreigners located overseas and ensure the privacy of U.S. citizens whose communications are incidentally collected.
Targeting the communications of a U.S. citizen or anyone inside the US requires a warrant. The emails and other data are sent by Internet and telecommunications companies to the FBI and NSA based on specific targets.
The law also immunized companies that cooperated voluntarily with a secret NSA program to collect communications without a warrant in the aftermath of the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
Resources
- Wikipedia
- FAS
- uscode.house.gov: 50 USC CHAPTER 36 - FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE 01/03/2012 (112-90)
- Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on FISA
- Electronic Frontier Foundation: Surveillance Under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)
- Cornell University Law School - Legal Information Institute: 50 USC Chapter 36 - FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE
Documents / Procedures
- 2013-06-08: DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE WASHINGTON - Facts on the Collection of Intelligence Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (PDF Download)
- Exhibit A: Procedures used by the National Security Agency for targeting non-United States Persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States to aquire Foreign Intelligence Information Pursuant to Section 702 of the foreign intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as amended (leaked 20130620)
- Exhibit B: Minimization Procedures used by the National Security Agency in connection with aquisitions of foreign Intelligence Information Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as amended (leaked 20130620)
