§1813 Procedures for the Retention of Incidentally Acquired Communications

Summary

Requires each head of an intelligence element to create and use procedures, approved by the Attorney General and made with the Director of National Intelligence, within 2 years after December 19, 2014. These rules cover how to handle certain private phone or electronic messages picked up without a party’s consent. Covered communication — a nonpublic phone or electronic message taken without a party’s consent, including stored electronic messages. Head of an element of the intelligence community — the leader of an intelligence part or the leader of the department that contains it. United States person — the meaning given in section 1801. The procedures must apply when intelligence collection that is not covered by a court order, subpoena, or similar legal process is likely to collect a covered communication to or from a United States person. Such communications may be kept, shared, or used, but generally must not be kept more than 5 years. They can be kept longer only in specific cases: if the message is foreign intelligence or needed to understand it; if it is likely evidence of a crime and held by law enforcement; if it is encrypted or seems to have a secret meaning; if all parties are non‑U.S. persons; if keeping it is needed to stop an imminent threat to life (must notify the congressional intelligence committees within 30 days after the extension); if it is needed for technical checks or legal compliance (access reported to the congressional intelligence committees yearly); or if the intelligence head approves extended retention for national security and sends the committees a written certification saying why, how long, what exactly is kept, and what privacy protections are in place.