# Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for the current period. Using Section 702 of the FISA Amendment Act of 2008
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## About FISA, FISA Amendments Act, and Section 702
* The [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act) (FISA), a United States federal law which prescribes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers" suspected of espionage or terrorism.

* FISA in 1978 grown out of a concern that the government might be using it's foreign intelligence powers to obtain information on people domestically.

* [FISA Amendments Act of 2008](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act_of_1978_Amendments_Act_of_2008) (FAA), A.K.A. National Security Agency’s (NSA) warrantless surveillance program.
    * First passed by congress in 2008
    * Renewed by congress in 2012 without any changes
    * Statutory authority expires 2017-12-31
    * Currently in a statutory review process, congress is considering a legislation to continue the re-authorization of the statutory authority, since there is a compelling case for it.

#### Section 720 of the FAA
* Section 720 of the FAA permits the Director of National Security (DNI) and the Attorney General (AG) to authorize jointly the acquisition of foreign intelligence information,with assistance from US-based communication service providers, by targeting Non-US Persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States.

* Before 702, government had to obtain individualized [FISA Court](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/United_States_Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Court) (FISC) warrants, where they have to show probable cause that the targeted individual is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power and facility (name, phone number, or email address) is likely used by that person.

* For each of the selectors or surveillance targets (name, phone, or email address), or search criteria it must satisfy three protections. Must be:
    * (1) Outside the US
    * (2) Not be a US person
    * (3) be associated with on the of 3 stated or specific categories.
        * (1) Espionage
        * (2) Terrorism
        * (3) Weapons of Mass Destruction / proliferation (the spread of weapons)

* FAA Section 702 does not require an individual warrant, however it does require steps for the government to take before it can conduct surveillance.


## Importance of FAA Section 702
* Surveillance of on-line activities of foreigners has provided invaluable information with some estimates placing 702 collection as accounting for more than 25% of all current intelligence collected by America’s intelligence professionals under persistent oversight. It generates a significant amount of the total reporting of the NSA that helps with:
    * Provide policy makers with insights to help generate better policies
    * Help military commanders to be better informed and in a position to make better operational choices
    * Help inform the cyber security of the US, and cyber attacks

* 702 is identified by the Intelligence Community as the holy grail, is the THE instrument which gives us access into the thinking, the minds, and the actions of foreign adversaries (non-US persons) plotting to do harm to the US or its allies.

* It is not just about the US, it's about the any nation that's trying to deal with the attempts of many to undermine democracies. So it has value beyond US shores. Several have said that thousands of their citizens lives have been saved because of the information derived under 702, and provided to us. (our allies)

* It enabled the US to do things like: (information insights generated under this lawful authority has enabled US to ...)
    * Understand enemy movements on the battlefields of Afghanistan, re-route US convoy movements, US troop concentrations, alert US service members serving in Afghanistan
    * Generate unique insights on the transfer of weapons from certain nation states around the world to other parties that will do harm to the US and allies.
    * Enable US to take key ISIS leaders of the battlefield
    * In the aftermath of European attacks, we take data provided by our European counterparts and cross reference or examine it with the information we have gathered or generated under 702 and say "we have proof that the individual who executed this has ties to ISIS, and there are addition people involved, and here is who they are"
    * Enable the US to achieve significant insights from a cyber security perspective, insight of cyber actions around the world directed against the US and it's allies

* The [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/United_States_Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Court) (FISC) then allows the US government to issue a series of directives that ask providers to provide to the US government specific information for specific purposes using specific criteria. That gives the providers or companies the legal basis upon which to comply with the government's request for information.


#### The 2 fundamental measures that lead us to the conclusion that 702 is of tremendous value
* (1) the uniqueness of the insights that it generates
    * it generates deep unique information that cannot be achieved via other legal means
    * if we lose this statutory authority, there is no alternative way account for it via other means
    * cannot replace information gathered via 702 via other legal means
    * generates insights that have direct actionable impact, it helps taking people off the battlefield, helping allies taking people off the battlefield, in terms of arresting terrorists and those who will do harm to their fellow citizens, helps to stop nations from moving arms illegally to other parties.
    * insights generation have global applicability, which makes it a very powerful tool

* (2) the quantity of the insights that it generates
    * the volume of generated information is enormous

## FISA Compliance and Oversight
* FAA Section 702 is subject to rigorous oversight by all three branches of the government.

* The decade long use of 702 has generated tremendous value for US and it's allies. There is a track record of legal compliance with the law. 702 has a track record of never been knowingly abused.

* NSA via 702 has oversight by both the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Attorney General (AG)
        * spot checked every 60 days, every collection request is reviewed by the DNI team and the DOJ team
        * must inform congressional oversight of all activities
        * were reviewed by [Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Privacy_and_Civil_Liberties_Oversight_Board)
        * Checked bu Inspector General, Office of Compliance (internal) checks
        * So, external organizations are involved in checking NSA activities under 702

* No single individual inside the NSA is authorized to make a collection request, the request must be reviewed by 2 other senior analysts.

* 702 has the most oversight, and the most checks and balances of any statutory legal authority that NSA uses to execute it's missions

## Current Status of FAA Section 702

#### Expiry and Renewal of FAA Section 702
* FAA Section 702, a warrantless surveillance law that underpins two massive Internet and telephone monitoring programs, will expire on December 31, 2017, unless Congress renews it.

* Director of National Intelligence (DNI) says that the [Intelligence Community](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/United_States_Intelligence_Community) (IC) is supporting 702 reauthorization with only one change: making the law permanent, and ending the recurring debates over the program’s merits.

* From the 115th Congress Report:
    * Title: FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017
    * Date: November 7, 2017
    * recommends that the bill do pass
    * extends the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 for eight additional years, replacing the current sunset date of December 31, 2017 with a new sunset date of December 31, 2025
    * provides restrictions on the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's (FBI's) use of Section 702-derived information, so that the FBI can use the information as evidence only in court proceedings involving national security-related crimes or other enumerated crimes, including death, kidnapping, serious bodily injury, offenses against minors, harm to critical infrastructure, cybersecurity crimes, transnational crimes, and human trafficking
    * further provides for increased IC transparency, including reporting on the number of targets FBI has authority to surveil
    * provides an exemption for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) from certain statutory requirements regarding public reporting and public meeting accessibility, given that much of PCLOB's activities involve classified matters

## Criticisms against FAA Section 702
* Cannot avoid collection of information from US citizens because of the nature of communications. So three legal protection mechanisms are built into the 702 framework
    * First, The law protects US citizens by saying you can only collect outside the US and only against non US persons.
    * Second, you cannot knowingly target US persons.
    * Third, you can only collected overseas, against non US persons, and three very specific stated purposes. The three certification are for foreign governments, counter-terrorism and WMD/proliferation.

* some people are against 702 because it is too powerful and possibly against privacy and 4th amendment, and fear of being abused. There are calls abolish FISA.