Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-110

§4588 Exemption From Disclosure

Title 50 › CHAPTER 55 — DEFENSE PRODUCTION › SUBCHAPTER IV — PROHIBITION AND NOTIFICATION ON INVESTMENTS RELATING TO COVERED NATIONAL SECURITY TRANSACTIONS › § 4588

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Keeps information and documents filed with the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee under this subchapter private and not open to the public under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(3), except in a few specific cases. Those exceptions allow sharing for court or administrative cases; to Congress or its committees; to domestic or allied foreign governments when the Secretary directs and only as needed for national security, following classification and confidentiality rules; the identity of a covered foreign person in the public database in section 4585; anything the parties agree to share; and material the Secretary decides should be released for national security, including anonymized data.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §4588

War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

Except as provided in subsection (b), any information or documentary material filed with the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee pursuant to this subchapter shall be exempt from disclosure under section 552(b)(3) of title 5, and no such information or documentary material may be made public.

(b)Exceptions

Subsection (a) shall not prohibit the disclosure of the following, subject to appropriate confidentiality and classification requirements:

(1)Information relevant to any administrative or judicial action or proceeding.

(2)Information to Congress or any duly authorized committee or subcommittee of Congress.

(3)Information important to the national security analysis or actions of the Secretary to any domestic governmental entity, or to any foreign governmental entity of a United States ally or partner, under the exclusive direction and authorization of the Secretary, only to the extent necessary for national security purposes, and subject to appropriate confidentiality and classification requirements.

(4)Identity of a covered foreign person in the public database described in section 4585 of this title.

(5)Information that the parties have consented to be disclosed to third parties.

(6)Information gathered by the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee where the disclosure is determined to be in the national security interest, which may include publication of anonymized data.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 4588

Title 50, War and National Defense

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110