United States. Surveillance / law enforcement access. Act
PATRIOT Act s215 etc. (expired)USA PATRIOT Act (2001): section 215 business-records, roving wiretap and lone-wolf FISA authorities (expired 15 March 2020)
Partly verified
Medium confidence.Lapse date confirmed in CRS R40138 (Origins and Impact of the FISA Provisions That Expired on March 15, 2020, updated 31 Mar 2021, opened as PDF on congress.gov): the provisions expired on 15 Mar 2020 and have not been reauthorized since, with grandfather clauses for earlier investigations. The report is from March 2021, so later action by Congress is not checked. Wikipedia's table shows 15 Dec 2019, which was the earlier deadline. In force date is the enactment date of Pub. L. 107-56 (26 Oct 2001) from Wikipedia; the three authorities came in separately (s.206 and s.215 in 2001, lone wolf in 2004 under IRTPA).
§1Summary
- Synopsis
Three FISA amendments that sunset on 15 March 2020 and have not been reauthorised: section 215 business-records orders, 'roving' wiretaps under section 206 and the 'lone wolf' provision. The rest of the USA PATRIOT Act is not covered by this record and remains in force.
- Key themes
- Unique features
Section 215's call-detail-record authority lapsed separately because it had no separate sunset. A 2021 DOJ letter says the government may use the grandfather exception for older investigations.
- SaaS relevance
Provider exposure to section 215 orders is limited to pre-March 2020 investigations; other FISA and national security process continues.
§2Obligations
- Breach notification
- None
- DPO
- No
- Cross-border transfers
- None
§3Dates
- Key dates
- Adopted
- In force
- Ended
- USA PATRIOT Act, Pub. L. 107-56, signed 26 Oct 2001. Original sunset 31 Dec 2005; extended 2006 and 2011; lapsed 1 Jun 2015; restored by the USA FREEDOM Act 2 Jun 2015; extended to 15 Mar 2020 in Dec 2019. House passed H.R. 6172 on 11 Mar 2020, but no extension was enacted. Grandfather clauses keep the provisions available for investigations begun before the sunset.
§4Text and authority
- Text
- Authoritative text congress.gov
- Authority
- US Department of Justice; Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
§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.Lapse date confirmed in CRS R40138 (Origins and Impact of the FISA Provisions That Expired on March 15, 2020, updated 31 Mar 2021, opened as PDF on congress.gov): the provisions expired on 15 Mar 2020 and have not been reauthorized since, with grandfather clauses for earlier investigations. The report is from March 2021, so later action by Congress is not checked. Wikipedia's table shows 15 Dec 2019, which was the earlier deadline. In force date is the enactment date of Pub. L. 107-56 (26 Oct 2001) from Wikipedia; the three authorities came in separately (s.206 and s.215 in 2001, lone wolf in 2004 under IRTPA).