PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Information collected under the special foreign-intelligence acquisition rules is treated like information from electronic surveillance for the rules that control how such material is used in court, except for one specific part of those rules. If the information is about a U.S. person, it normally cannot be used as evidence against that person in a criminal case unless the FBI first gets a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order to access it, or the Attorney General decides the case involves national security or one of several very serious crimes. Those crimes include death, kidnapping, serious bodily injury, crimes against minors, harm to critical infrastructure, cybersecurity offenses, transnational crime (like drug trafficking and organized crime), and human trafficking. The Attorney General’s decision cannot be reviewed by a court. Information gathered under the related acquisition authority is also treated the same way.

Title 50, §1881e

War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Information acquired under section 1881a

(1)In general

Information acquired from an acquisition conducted under section 1881a of this title shall be deemed to be information acquired from an electronic surveillance pursuant to subchapter I for purposes of section 1806 of this title, except for the purposes of subsection (j) of such section.

(2)United States persons

(A)In general

Any information concerning a United States person acquired under section 1881a of this title shall not be used in evidence against that United States person pursuant to paragraph (1) in any criminal proceeding unless—

(i)the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained an order of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to access such information pursuant to section 1881a(f)(2) of this title; or

(ii)the Attorney General determines that—

(I)the criminal proceeding affects, involves, or is related to the national security of the United States; or

(II)the criminal proceeding involves—

(aa)death;

(bb)kidnapping;

(cc)serious bodily injury, as defined in section 1365 of title 18;

(dd)conduct that constitutes a criminal offense that is a specified offense against a minor, as defined in section 20911 of title 34;

(ee)incapacitation or destruction of critical infrastructure, as defined in section 5195c(e) of title 42;

(ff)cybersecurity, including conduct described in section 5195c(e) of title 42 or section 1029, 1030, or 2511 of title 18;

(gg)transnational crime, including transnational narcotics trafficking and transnational organized crime; or

(hh)human trafficking.

(B)No judicial review

A determination by the Attorney General under subparagraph (A)(ii) is not subject to judicial review.

(b)Information acquired under section 1881b

Information acquired from an acquisition conducted under section 1881b of this title shall be deemed to be information acquired from an electronic surveillance pursuant to subchapter I for purposes of section 1806 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Repeal of Section Pub. L. 110–261, title IV, § 403(b)(1),

July 10, 2008, 122 Stat. 2474, as amended by Pub. L. 112–238, § 2(a)(1), Dec. 30, 2012, 126 Stat. 1631; Pub. L. 115–118, title II, § 201(a)(1), Jan. 19, 2018, 132 Stat. 19; Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title IX, § 7902(a)(1), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1108; Pub. L. 118–49, § 19(a)(1), Apr. 20, 2024, 138 Stat. 891; Pub. L. 119–84, § 1(a)(1), Apr. 18, 2026, 140 Stat. 770; Pub. L. 119–87, § 1(a)(1), Apr. 30, 2026, 140 Stat. 811, provided that, except as provided in section 404 of Pub. L. 110–261, set out as a note under section 1801 of this title, effective

June 12, 2026, this section is repealed.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–118 designated existing provisions as par. (1), inserted par. heading, and added par. (2).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of Repeal Pub. L. 110–261, title IV, § 403(b)(1), July 10, 2008, 122 Stat. 2474, as amended by Pub. L. 112–238, § 2(a)(1), Dec. 30, 2012, 126 Stat. 1631; Pub. L. 115–118, title II, § 201(a)(1), Jan. 19, 2018, 132 Stat. 19; Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title IX, § 7902(a)(1), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1108; Pub. L. 118–49, § 19(a)(1), Apr. 20, 2024, 138 Stat. 891; Pub. L. 119–84, § 1(a)(1), Apr. 18, 2026, 140 Stat. 770; Pub. L. 119–87, § 1(a)(1), Apr. 30, 2026, 140 Stat. 811, provided that, except as provided in section 404 of Pub. L. 110–261, set out as a Transition Procedures note under section 1801 of this title, the

Repeals

made by section 403(b)(1) are effective June 12, 2026.

§1881e Use of Information Acquired Under This Subchapter