H.R. 8512: To amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 through April 20, 2029, and for other purposes.

This bill is designed to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) regarding the authorities under Title VII, specifically extending the expiration date for certain provisions. The significant changes proposed can be categorized as follows:

1. Extension of Authorities

The bill proposes to extend the expiration date of the authorities granted under Title VII of FISA from April 30, 2026, to April 20, 2029. This means that the provisions allowing the government to conduct surveillance and collect data under this title will remain in effect for an additional three years.

2. Warrant Requirement for Targeting U.S. Citizens

This section introduces stricter guidelines for the collection of communication data from U.S. persons (citizens and legal residents). Key points include:

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) cannot use unminimized data (data that hasn't been altered to remove identifying information) unless it pertains to an ongoing national security investigation.
• If the FBI wants to target a U.S. person’s communications for surveillance, they must obtain a warrant based on probable cause, showing that the person is connected to foreign powers or has committed a crime.
• The Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence are required to create procedures to determine if probable cause exists for domestic surveillance.

3. Use of Information

Information obtained from these surveillance measures regarding U.S. persons cannot be used as evidence in legal proceedings if it was collected against the new warrant requirements.

4. Additional Criminal Penalties

The bill proposes to increase penalties for unauthorized actions related to surveillance data, including:

• Unauthorized disclosure or retention of classified information will be punishable by fines and imprisonment for up to 8 years.
• Unauthorized queries of data on U.S. persons subject the offender to fines and up to 2 years in prison.
• Falsifying compliance with surveillance laws will also carry potential fines and imprisonment.

5. Congressional Oversight

After the enactment of this bill, the Attorney General must ensure that Members of Congress have access to relevant court proceedings under FISA, enabling better oversight of surveillance activities.

6. Attorney Approval for Queries

The bill stipulates that queries seeking information regarding U.S. persons require approval from an attorney, enhancing the control over the querying processes of such sensitive information.

7. Audit Requirement

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is tasked with auditing the targeting procedures used under section 702 of FISA. The audit will evaluate whether the procedures are effectively limiting surveillance of U.S. persons and ensure compliance with privacy standards. A report with the findings must be submitted to congressional committees within one year of the bill's enactment.

8. Changes to Internal Procedures

The bill requires the Attorney General to revoke previous procedures that pertain to the access of Members of Congress to FISA court proceedings and to establish new processes that facilitate this access.

Relevant Companies

• AAPL (Apple Inc.): As a major technology company that provides communication services, changes in surveillance regulations could affect how Apple manages user data and compliance with federal data requests.
• GOOGL (Alphabet Inc.): The parent company of Google, its services could be impacted by new data handling and legal compliance related to surveillance requests.
• FB (Meta Platforms, Inc.): As a prominent social media company, changes in how user data is collected and what warrants are required could influence operational protocols.