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
• EFF: Stop the NSA "Fake Fix" Bill - The FISA Improvements Act of 2013 seeks to extend NSA 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)

Articles / Events / Situations

Date	Source	Title	Tags
20240412	rt.com	US renews controversial spying program / Section 702 of the FISA act was reauthorized despite fierce resistance from former President Donald Trump	FISA
20180118	spiegel.de	USA Senat stimmt umstrittenem Überwachungsprogramm zu	US / FISA / NSA
20180109	theintercept.com	NSA Surveillance Bill Would Legalize Loophole That Lets FBI Spy on Americans Without a Warrant	US / FISA / NSA / FBI
20140725	vice.com	The Judges Approving the NSA's Surveillance Requests Keep Buying Verizon Stock	FISA / VERIZON
20131206	thehill.com	NSA tracks phone locations under executive order	NSA / Location Tracking / FISA
20131119	spiegel.de	Veröffentlichte Geheimdokumente: NSA will auch Handy-Ortsdaten erfassen	NSA / FISA
20131119	arstechnica.com	Judge: “NSA exceeded the scope of authorized acquisition continuously” - New declassifed documents show legal arguments over bulk metadata collection	FISA / NSA
20130921	washingtonpost.com	FISA court ruling on illegal NSA e-mail collection program: Read the declassified Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinion striking down a National Security Agency program that unlawfully gathered as many as tens of thousands of e-mails and other electronic communications between Americans before it was shut down in 2011.	NSA / FISA
20130918	heise.de	US-Geheimgericht: Verbindungsdaten sind nicht Teil der Privatsphäre	FISA / Metadata / US
20130918	rt.com	Privacy perverted: No telco ever disobeyed NSA phone record orders	US / NSA / FISA
20130918	spiegel.de	Spähaffäre: US-Telefonanbieter gaben Daten widerstandslos an die NSA	US / NSA / FISA
20130918	rt.com	NSA's phone data collection is legal, does not violate privacy – FISA court	US / NSA / FISA
20130913	theguardian.com	Fisa judge: Snowden's NSA disclosures triggered important spying debate - Dennis Saylor orders government to review rules on surveillance and says further declassification would protect court's integrity	US / NSA / FISA
20130909	telepolis.de	Obama-Regierung hat die Befugnisse der NSA erweitern lassen	US / NSA / FISA
20130909	spiegel.de	Überwachung: US-Regierung lockerte NSA-Beschränkungen per Geheimbeschluss	US / NSA / FISA
20130908	washingtonpost.com	Obama administration had restrictions on NSA reversed in 2011	US / NSA / FISA
20130831	spiegel.de	NSA-Überwachung: Google und Microsoft scheitern bei US-Regierung	GOOGLE / MICROSOFT / FISA
20130816	washingtonpost.com	Court: Ability to police U.S. spying program limited	US / FISA / NSA
20130724	cnet.com	Feds put heat on Web firms for master encryption keys: Whether the FBI or NSA have the legal authority to obtain the master keys that companies use for Web encryption remains an open question, but it hasn't stopped the U.S. government from trying.	US / NSA / FBI / FISA
20130719	guardian.co.uk	Secret court lets NSA extend its trawl of Verizon customers' phone records: Latest revelation an indication of how Obama administration has opened up hidden world of mass communications surveillance	VERIZON / NSA / FISA
20130716	spiegel.de	Yahoo: Geheimgericht muss Prism-Urteil veröffentlichen	YAHOO / PRISM / FISA
20130709	nytimes.com	Nation Will Gain by Discussing Surveillance, Expert Tells Privacy Board	US / FISA
20130709	guardian.co.uk	US must fix secret Fisa courts, says top judge who granted surveillance orders - James Robertson breaks ranks and says he was shocked to hear of changes to allow broader authorisation of NSA programs	FISA / US / NSA
20130708	spiegel.de	Mangelnde Kontrolle: US-Geheimgericht stärkt Macht der NSA	FISA / NSA
20130706	nytimes.com	In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of N.S.A.	NSA / FISA
20130630	washingtonpost.com	Secret-court judges upset at portrayal of ‘collaboration’ with government	US / NSA / FISA
20130627	theweek.com	How the NSA won its war	NSA / STELLAR WIND / FISA
20130625	politico.com	NSA takes surveillance fact sheets off website	US / NSA / FISA
20130621	spiegel.de	Überwachung in den USA: Das Schattengericht	FISA
20130621	netzpolitik.org	Neue Dokumente beweisen: Auslandsgeheimdienste wie die NSA können nicht demokratisch kontrolliert werden	NSA / FISA
20130620	guardian.co.uk	Revealed: the top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant - Fisa court submissions show broad scope of procedures governing NSA's surveillance of Americans' communication	US / NSA / FISA
20130620	guardian.co.uk	US House bill would force Obama to declassify Fisa court decisions: Legal justifications for NSA's wide-ranging surveillance would be released as lawmakers seek 'informed public debate' on Prism	FISA / PRISM / US
20130618	guardian.co.uk	Fisa court oversight: a look inside a secret and empty process - Obama and other NSA defenders insist there are robust limitations on surveillance but the documents show otherwise	FISA / US
20130613	ibtimes.com	FISC Will Not Object To Release of 2011 Court Opinion That Confirmed NSA’s Illegal Surveillance	FISA
20130610	motherjones.com	FISA Court Has Rejected .03 Percent Of All Government Surveillance Requests	FISA
20130610	washingtonpost.com	Surveillance controversy illuminated by history	US / NSA / AT&T / VERIZON / BELLSOUTH / FISA / NSA Utah Data Center (US)
20130110	eff.org	A New Year, a New FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization, But the Same Old Secret Law	FISA / FAA
20130110	spiegel.de	Cloud Computing: EU-Studie warnt vor Überwachung durch die USA	EU / FISA / US / Cloud Computing / FAA
20130108	slate.com	U.S. Spy Law Authorizes Mass Surveillance of European Citizens: Report	FISA / US / EU / FAA
20121228	huffingtonpost.com	Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Congress Extends Law, Rejects Bipartisan Arguments	FISA / FAA
20121228	triblive.com	Congress approves 5-year extension of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act	FISA / FAA
20121228	legaltimes.typepad.com	Senate Reauthorizes FISA, a Top DOJ Priority	FISA / FAA
20121228	blogs.voanews.com	US Senate Votes to Extend Warrantless Surveillance Act	FISA / FAA
20121228	ft.com	Extension of US surveillance act approved	FISA / FAA
20121228	southmilwaukeenow.com	(Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Todays Important Debate in Senate+	FISA / FAA
20121228	thehill.com	Senate approves bill to reauthorize foreign surveillance programs	FISA / FAA
20091118	aclu.org	FISA Amendments Act FOIA Request	FISA / FAA
20060609	washingtonpost.com	Specter Offers Compromise on NSA Surveillance	US / NSA / FISA
20051224	Telepolis	Der Abhörskandal weitet sich aus	US / NSA / FISA