Latest in Section 702
Most notably, the court warned that, if these violations continue, the number of FBI officials with access to FISA-sourced data could be “substantially limited.”
A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinion documents improper use of the FBI’s 702 database.
Let’s take a closer look at incidental collection, FBI querying, and the Fourth Amendment as we head into a potential 702 sunset.
Given the importance of Section 702’s collection authorities for national security, it is worth reviewing how it compares to the original FISA.
The attorney general and director of national intelligence co-authored a letter to congressional leadership urging the reauthorization of an intelligence-gathering provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance ACT (FISA).
On Feb. 28, Benjamin Wittes sat down with Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen at the Brookings Institution to discuss the Biden administration's attempt to work with Congress to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intellligence Surveillance Act before it expires on Dec. 31. They also discussed what would happen if 702 expired, and whether it is even necessary in a world more concerned with great power conflict than with counterterrorism.
You can watch the event here or below:
Section 702 is vital to national security. That’s why Congress must stop the FBI’s overreach.
On Aug. 10, the Director of National Intelligence released its 21st Joint Assessment of Section 702 Compliance, which covers June 1, 2018 to Nov. 30, 2018. The semiannual report is produced in compliance with the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released partially redacted documents related to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s (FISC) authorization of the 2018 certifications under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The FISC initially approved most parts of the certification, but ruled that other aspects of the FBI protocols concerning information regarding U.S. persons were inadequate.
The legislative debate over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has ended with passage of a six-year reauthorization that omitted many of the provisions privacy advocates had argued were necessary. But the legal and policy debate is likely to continue in the U.S. and in European courts.
We took different positions in the overall debate on Section 702. But we agree that there is an important step the U.S. government can take now to bolster transparency and accountability within the program without unduly burdening legitimate intelligence activities.