FISA Amendments Act of 2008

E24728

United States federal statute surveillance law

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 is a U.S. law that expanded and updated government authority to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreign targets while providing legal protections for telecommunications companies assisting such intelligence activities.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form	Occurrences
FISA Amendments Act of 2008 authorities	1
FISA Amendments Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-261, 122 Stat. 2436 (2008)	1
Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008	1

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States federal statute ⓘ surveillance law ⓘ
aimsTo	modernize FISA to address global communications infrastructure routed through the United States ⓘ
amends	Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ⓘ surface form: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978
authorizes	compelled assistance from electronic communication service providers ⓘ targeted warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. persons reasonably believed to be located outside the United States ⓘ
citationStyle	FISA Amendments Act of 2008 self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: FISA Amendments Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-261, 122 Stat. 2436 (2008)
codifiedIn	Title 50 of the United States Code ⓘ
contains	provisions governing acquisition of foreign intelligence information concerning persons outside the United States ⓘ
containsProvision	Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ⓘ surface form: Section 702 of FISA
country	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
criticizedFor	expanding warrantless surveillance authorities ⓘ insufficient protections for Americans’ communications incidentally collected ⓘ
effectiveDate	2008-07-10 ⓘ
enactedBy	110th United States Congress ⓘ
establishes	procedures for certification by the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence ⓘ
grantsImmunityTo	telecommunications companies that assisted post-9/11 warrantless surveillance programs ⓘ
includes	sunset provisions for certain authorities ⓘ
legalBasisFor	bulk or large-scale acquisition of communications to, from, or about foreign targets (as implemented under Section 702) ⓘ certain NSA collection of communications content from U.S.-based service providers ⓘ
legislativeHistory	introduced following controversy over the Terrorist Surveillance Program ⓘ
limits	civil actions against telecommunications companies for assistance in intelligence activities covered by the statute ⓘ
oversightBy	Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ⓘ United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence ⓘ United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence ⓘ
predecessor	Protect America Act of 2007 ⓘ
prohibits	intentional acquisition of communications where all participants are known to be in the United States ⓘ intentional targeting of U.S. persons under Section 702 ⓘ
provides	retroactive civil immunity for certain telecommunications providers ⓘ
publicLawNumber	Public Law 110-261 ⓘ
relatedToProgram	PRISM surveillance program ⓘ upstream Internet collection by the National Security Agency ⓘ
requires	FISA Court approval of minimization procedures ⓘ FISA Court approval of querying or “upstream” collection procedures (as later interpreted) ⓘ FISA Court approval of targeting procedures ⓘ Inspector General reviews of certain surveillance activities ⓘ periodic reporting to congressional intelligence and judiciary committees ⓘ
shortName	FAA ⓘ
signedBy	George W. Bush ⓘ
signingDate	2008-07-10 ⓘ
subjectOf	constitutional challenges under the Fourth Amendment ⓘ
subjectOfCase	Clapper v. Amnesty International USA ⓘ
sunsetExtendedBy	FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012 ⓘ FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 ⓘ
supportedFor	providing legal certainty to telecommunications providers assisting intelligence collection ⓘ updating intelligence authorities to address modern communications technologies ⓘ

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act → amendedBy → FISA Amendments Act of 2008 ⓘ

FISA Amendments Act of 2008 → citationStyle → FISA Amendments Act of 2008 self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: FISA Amendments Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-261, 122 Stat. 2436 (2008)

PRISM → legalBasis → FISA Amendments Act of 2008 ⓘ

this entity surface form: Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008

Stellar Wind → partlyReplacedBy → FISA Amendments Act of 2008 ⓘ

this entity surface form: FISA Amendments Act of 2008 authorities