United States. Surveillance / law enforcement access. Act
FISAForeign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq.)
Partly verified
Medium confidence.Source read: first 100,000 characters of Wikipedia only. The base Act remains in force; only Title VII (702) and the provisions listed under us-patriot-act-sunset-2020 lapsed. Effective date not stated, so date_in_force is empty. In force date: LII Effective Date note says the provisions became effective on the date of enactment, 25 Oct 1978 (with an exception for Attorney General-approved surveillance for 90 days after the first judge designation).
§1Summary
- Synopsis
Sets the procedure for physical and electronic surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence in the US and created the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review applications. Covers electronic surveillance, physical searches, pen registers and trap-and-trace devices, and access to certain business records.
- Key themes
- Unique features
Created the secret FISA Court. Section 702 (Title VII) is recorded as a separate row; the rest of the Act continues.
- SaaS relevance
US providers can receive FISA orders for customer data; relevant to EU transfer assessments.
§2Obligations
- Extraterritorial
- Yes
- Breach notification
- None
- DPO
- No
- Cross-border transfers
- Relevant to EU transfer risk assessments
§3Dates
- Key dates
- Adopted
- In force
- Pub. L. 95-511 signed 25 Oct 1978. Amended by the USA PATRIOT Act 2001, Protect America Act 2007 (5 Aug 2007), FISA Amendments Act 2008 (10 Jul 2008, added Title VII), USA FREEDOM Act 2015, FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act 2018 (19 Jan 2018) and RISAA 2024 (20 Apr 2024). Title VII, including section 702, lapsed on 12 Jun 2026 (see us-fisa-702).
§4Text and authority
- Text
- Authoritative text law.cornell.edu
- Authority
- Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court; US Department of Justice
§5Where it applies
- Domestic law of
- United States
- Also applies in
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- US Virgin Islands
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
§6Sources and verification
- Sources consulted
- Verification
Medium confidence.
Partly verified
Medium confidence.Source read: first 100,000 characters of Wikipedia only. The base Act remains in force; only Title VII (702) and the provisions listed under us-patriot-act-sunset-2020 lapsed. Effective date not stated, so date_in_force is empty. In force date: LII Effective Date note says the provisions became effective on the date of enactment, 25 Oct 1978 (with an exception for Attorney General-approved surveillance for 90 days after the first judge designation).