Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Set to Expire, May 27, 2011 “The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) provides a statutory framework by which government agencies may, when gathering foreign intelligence investigation, obtain authorization to conduct electronic surveillance2 or physical searches,3 utilize pen registers and trap and trace devices, or access specified business… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Search Results for: FISA
FISA Amendments Act of 2008 Passed by Senate
On June 20, 2008 the House passed H.R. 6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. Today the Senate passed the bill. Related commentary and articles as follows: ACLU: Senate Passes Unconstitutional Spying Bill And Grants Sweeping Immunity To Phone Companies New York Times: Senate Approves Bill to Broaden Wiretap Powers WSJ Law Blog: “As the… Continue Reading
Bipartisan FISA Compromise Reached
News release: “Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman John Jay Rockefeller (WV), Senate Intelligence Committee Vice-Chair Kit Bond (MO), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD), and House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (MO) announced today that a bipartisan compromise has been agreed to that will modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The FISA Amendments Act, H.R. 6304 (114… Continue Reading
FISA Orders Up, Government Reporting on National Security Letters Begins
EPIC: “According to the 2007 FISA report, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved 2,370 application to conduct electronic surveillance and physical searches in the United States in 2007, up from 2,176 applications approved in 2006. For the first time, the report includes information regarding the total number of requests made by the Department of Justice… Continue Reading
Report to Accompany FISA Amendments Act of 2007
Senate Intelligence Committee, S. Rpt. 110-209, Report to Accompany FISA Amendments Act of 2007. Continue Reading
Senate Intelligence Committee Passed Legislation to Modernize FISA
Press release, October 18, 2007: “Senator Jay Rockefeller and Senator Kit Bond, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee…announced that the Senate Intelligence Committee passed legislation to modernize FISA. The bill, which passed by a strong bipartisan vote, will improve the recently enacted Protect America Act that aimed to fix collection problems related… Continue Reading
Conyers, Reyes Introduce FISA Revision Legislation
Press release: “Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) introduced The Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007 the RESTORE Act,in an effort to address concerns about civil liberty protections in the hastily-enacted Protect America Act that was signed into… Continue Reading
Court Rules Unconstitutional Two Provisions of FISA
EFF: “Today, Judge Ann Aiken of the Oregon Federal District Court ruled that two provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), “50 U.S.C. §§ 1804 and 1823, as amended by the Patriot Act, are unconstitutional because they violate the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” Continue Reading
Senate Judiciary Hearing: Strengthening FISA: Does the Protect America Act Protect Americans' Civil Liberties and Enhance Security?
Hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Strengthening FISA: Does the Protect America Act Protect Americans’ Civil Liberties and Enhance Security? Tuesday, September 25, 2007. [Link to witness statements] September 25, 2007: DNI Statement for the Record – Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing on FISA Related postings on FISA and Protect America Act Continue Reading
DNI Senate Intel Committee Testimony on FISA Modernization
Follow up to April 16, 2007 posting, Fact Sheet: Proposed FISA Modernization Legislation, the following documents from the Director of National Intelligence (DNI): May 01, 2007, Transcript: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence – FISA Modernization Unclassified, May 01, 2007, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence – Statement for the Record on FISA Modernization: Statement for the… Continue Reading
Fact Sheet: Proposed FISA Modernization Legislation
Office of the Director of National Intelligence, April 13, 2007, Fact Sheet: Proposed FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act)Modernization Legislation “Key Provisions of this Bill Are: Updating the definition of electronic surveillance to account for the sweeping changes in telecommunications technology that have taken place. The proposed legislation is technology neutral. In contrast to the 1978… Continue Reading
Hearing: FISA for the 21st Century
Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing today: FISA for the 21st Century. Link to witness statements. AP: President Pushes To Revise Wiretap Law AP: Specter proposes challenge of Bush’s power on laws EFF: The White House/Specter Surveillance Bill S. 2453 – A bill to establish procedures for the review of electronic surveillance programs. ACLU press… Continue Reading
