1228 
grant, for an order delaying the notification required 
under section 3120A(b) for a period not to exceed 
ninety days, if the court determines that there is 
reason to believe that notification of the existence of 
the court order may have an adverse result described 
in paragraph (2) of this subsection; or 
‘‘(B) where an administrative subpoena author-
ized by a Federal or State statute or a Federal or 
State grand jury subpoena is obtained, delay the no-
tification required under section 3120A(b) for a pe-
riod not to exceed ninety days upon the execution of 
a written certification of a supervisory official that 
there is reason to believe that notification of the ex-
istence of the subpoena may have an adverse result 
described in paragraph (2) of this subsection. 
‘‘(2) An adverse result for the purposes of paragraph 
(1) of this subsection is— 
‘‘(A) endangering the life or physical safety of 
an individual; 
‘‘(B) flight from prosecution; 
‘‘(C) destruction of or tampering with evidence; 
‘‘(D) intimidation of potential witnesses; or 
‘‘(E) otherwise seriously jeopardizing an inves-
tigation or unduly delaying a trial. 
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‘‘(3) The governmental entity shall maintain a true 
copy of certification under paragraph (1)(B). 
‘‘(4) Extensions of the delay of notification provided 
in section 3120A of up to ninety days each may be granted 
by the court upon application, or by certification by a gov-
ernmental entity, but only in accordance with subsection 
(b) of this section. 
‘‘(5) Upon expiration of the period of delay of notifi-
cation under paragraph (1) or (4) of this subsection, the 
governmental entity shall serve upon, or deliver by reg-
istered or first-class mail to, the customer or subscriber 
a copy of the process or request together with notice 
that— 
‘‘(A) states with reasonable specificity the na-
ture of the law enforcement inquiry; and 
‘‘(B) informs such customer or subscriber— 
‘‘(i) that information maintained for such 
customer or subscriber by the service provider 
named in such process or request was supplied 
to or requested by that governmental authority 
and the date on which the supplying or request 
took place; 
‘‘(ii) that notification of such customer or 
subscriber was delayed; 
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‘‘(iii) what governmental entity or court 
made the certification or determination pursu-
ant to which that delay was made; and 
‘‘(iv) which provision of this chapter al-
lowed such delay. 
‘‘(6) As used in this subsection, the term ‘supervisory 
official’ means the investigative agent in charge or assist-
ant investigative agent in charge or an equivalent of an 
investigating agency’s headquarters or regional office, or 
the chief prosecuting attorney or the first assistant pros-
ecuting attorney or an equivalent of a prosecuting attor-
ney’s headquarters or regional office. 
‘‘(b) PRECLUSION OF NOTICE TO SUBJECT OF GOV-
ERNMENTAL
ACCESS.—A governmental entity acting 
under section 3120A, when it is not required to notify the 
subscriber or customer under section 3120A(b)(1), or to 
the extent that it may delay such notice pursuant to sub-
section (a) of this section, may apply to a court for an 
order commanding a provider of electronic communica-
tions service or remote computing service to whom a war-
rant, subpoena, or court order is directed, for such period 
as the court deems appropriate, not to notify any other 
person of the existence of the warrant, subpoena, or court 
order. The court shall enter such an order if it determines 
that there is reason to believe that notification of the exist-
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ence of the warrant, subpoena, or court order will result 
in— 
‘‘(1) endangering the life or physical safety of 
an individual; 
‘‘(2) flight from prosecution; 
‘‘(3) destruction of or tampering with evidence; 
‘‘(4) intimidation of potential witnesses; or 
‘‘(5) otherwise seriously jeopardizing an inves-
tigation or unduly delaying a trial. 
‘‘§ 3120D. Cost reimbursement 
‘‘(a) PAYMENT.—Except as otherwise provided in 
subsection (c), a governmental entity obtaining the con-
tents of communications, records, or other information 
under section 3120, 3120A, or 3120B shall pay to the 
person or entity assembling or providing such information 
a fee for reimbursement for such costs as are reasonably 
necessary and which have been directly incurred in search-
ing for, assembling, reproducing, or otherwise providing 
such information. Such reimbursable costs shall include 
any costs due to necessary disruption of normal operations 
of any electronic communication service or remote com-
puting service in which such information may be stored. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the fee provided by 
subsection (a) shall be as mutually agreed by the govern-
mental entity and the person or entity providing the infor-
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1232 
mation, or, in the absence of agreement, shall be as deter-
mined by the court which issued the order for production 
of such information (or the court before which a criminal 
prosecution relating to such information would be brought, 
if no court order was issued for production of the informa-
tion). 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—The requirement of subsection (a) 
of this section does not apply with respect to records or 
other information maintained by a communications com-
mon carrier that relate to telephone toll records and tele-
phone listings obtained under section 3120A. The court 
may, however, order a payment as described in subsection 
(a) if the court determines the information required is un-
usually voluminous in nature or otherwise caused an 
undue burden on the provider. 
‘‘§ 3120E. Civil action 
‘‘(a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Except as provided in sec-
tion 3120A(e), any provider of electronic communication 
service, subscriber, or other person aggrieved by any viola-
tion of this chapter in which the conduct constituting the 
violation is engaged in with a knowing or intentional state 
of mind may, in a civil action, recover from the person 
or entity, other than the United States, which engaged in 
that violation such relief as may be appropriate. 
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‘‘(b) RELIEF.—In a civil action under this section, 
appropriate relief includes— 
‘‘(1) such preliminary and other equitable or 
declaratory relief as may be appropriate; 
‘‘(2) damages under subsection (c); and 
‘‘(3) a reasonable attorney’s fee and other liti-
gation costs reasonably incurred. 
‘‘(c) DAMAGES.—The court may assess as damages 
in a civil action under this section the sum of the actual 
damages suffered by the plaintiff and any profits made 
by the violator as a result of the violation, but in no case 
shall a person entitled to recover receive less than the sum 
of $1,000. If the violation is willful or intentional, the 
court may assess punitive damages. In the case of a suc-
cessful action to enforce liability under this section, the 
court may assess the costs of the action, together with 
reasonable attorney fees determined by the court. 
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE DISCIPLINE.—If a court or 
appropriate department or agency determines that the 
United States or any of its departments or agencies has 
violated any provision of this chapter, and the court or 
appropriate department or agency finds that the cir-
cumstances surrounding the violation raise serious ques-
tions about whether or not an officer or employee of the 
United States acted willfully or intentionally with respect 
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to the violation, the department or agency shall, upon re-
ceipt of a true and correct copy of the decision and find-
ings of the court or appropriate department or agency 
promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether dis-
ciplinary action against the officer or employee is war-
ranted. If the head of the department or agency involved 
determines that disciplinary action is not warranted, he 
or she shall notify the Inspector General with jurisdiction 
over the department or agency concerned and shall provide 
the Inspector General with the reasons for such deter-
mination. 
‘‘(e) DEFENSE.—A good faith reliance on— 
‘‘(1) a court warrant or order, a grand jury 
subpoena, a legislative authorization, or a statutory 
authorization (including a request of a governmental 
entity under section 3120A(f)); 
‘‘(2) a request of an investigative or law en-
forcement officer under section 3119C(g); or 
‘‘(3) a good faith determination that section 
1492(c) permitted the conduct complained of; 
is a complete defense to any civil or criminal action 
brought under this chapter or any other law. 
‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—A civil action under this section 
may not be commenced later than two years after the date 
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upon which the claimant first discovered or had a reason-
able opportunity to discover the violation. 
‘‘(g) IMPROPER DISCLOSURE.—Any willful disclosure 
of a ‘record’, as that term is defined in section 552a(a) 
of title 5, obtained by an investigative or law enforcement 
officer, or a governmental entity, pursuant to section 
3120A, or from a device installed pursuant to section 
3123 or 3125, that is not a disclosure made in the proper 
performance of the official functions of the officer or gov-
ernmental entity making the disclosure, is a violation of 
this chapter. This subsection does not apply to informa-
tion previously lawfully disclosed (prior to the commence-
ment of any civil or administrative proceeding under this 
chapter) to the public by a Federal, State, or local govern-
mental entity or by the plaintiff in a civil action under 
this chapter. 
‘‘§ 3120F. Exclusivity of remedies 
‘‘The remedies and sanctions described in this chap-
ter are the only judicial remedies and sanctions for non-
constitutional violations of this chapter. 
‘‘§ 3120G. Counterintelligence access to telephone toll 
and transactional records 
‘‘(a) DUTY TO PROVIDE.—A wire or electronic com-
munication service provider shall comply with a request 
for subscriber information and toll billing records informa-
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tion, or electronic communication transactional records in 
its custody or possession made by the Director of the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation under subsection (b) of this 
section. 
‘‘(b) REQUIRED CERTIFICATION.—The Director of 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or his designee in 
a position not lower than Deputy Assistant Director at 
Bureau headquarters or a Special Agent in Charge in a 
Bureau field office designated by the Director, may— 
‘‘(1) request the name, address, length of serv-
ice, and local and long distance toll billing records 
of a person or entity if the Director (or his designee) 
certifies in writing to the wire or electronic commu-
nication service provider to which the request is 
made that the name, address, length of service, and 
toll billing records sought are relevant to an author-
ized investigation to protect against international 
terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, pro-
vided that such an investigation of a United States 
person is not conducted solely on the basis of activi-
ties protected by the first amendment to the Con-
stitution of the United States; and 
‘‘(2) request the name, address, and length of 
service of a person or entity if the Director (or his 
designee) certifies in writing to the wire or electronic 
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communication service provider to which the request 
is made that the information sought is relevant to 
an authorized investigation to protect against inter-
national terrorism or clandestine intelligence activi-
ties, provided that such an investigation of a United 
States person is not conducted solely upon the basis 
of activities protected by the first amendment to the 
Constitution of the United States. 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN DISCLOSURE.— 
‘‘(1) If the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, or his designee in a position not lower 
than Deputy Assistant Director at Bureau head-
quarters or a Special Agent in Charge in a Bureau 
field office designated by the Director, certifies that 
otherwise there may result a danger to the national 
security of the United States, interference with a 
criminal, counterterrorism, or counterintelligence in-
vestigation, interference with diplomatic relations, or 
danger to the life or physical safety of any person, 
no wire or electronic communications service pro-
vider, or officer, employee, or agent thereof, shall 
disclose to any person (other than those to whom 
such disclosure is necessary to comply with the re-
quest or an attorney to obtain legal advice or legal 
assistance with respect to the request) that the Fed-
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eral Bureau of Investigation has sought or obtained 
access to information or records under this section. 
‘‘(2) The request shall notify the person or enti-
ty to whom the request is directed of the nondisclo-
sure requirement under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) Any recipient disclosing to those persons 
necessary to comply with the request or to an attor-
ney to obtain legal advice or legal assistance with re-
spect to the request shall inform such person of any 
applicable nondisclosure requirement. Any person 
who receives a disclosure under this subsection shall 
be subject to the same prohibitions on disclosure 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(4) At the request of the Director of the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation or the designee of the 
Director, any person making or intending to make 
a disclosure under this section shall identify to the 
Director or such designee the person to whom such 
disclosure will be made or to whom such disclosure 
was made prior to the request, except that nothing 
in this section requires a person to inform the Direc-
tor or such designee of the identity of an attorney 
to whom disclosure was made or will be made to ob-
tain legal advice or legal assistance with respect to 
the request under subsection (a). 
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