Source: http://www.techlawjournal.com/alert/2014/05/06.asp
Timestamp: 2017-09-19 13:38:56
Document Index: 507869393

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1861', '§ 1842', '§ 1881', '§ 2709', '§ 1861', '§ 1801']

TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014, Alert No. 2,654.
House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Surveillance Reform Bill
5/5. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) announced that it will mark up HR 3361 [LOC | WW], a huge bill to reform government surveillance practices, on Wednesday, May 7, 2014 at 1:00 PM. The HJC is scheduled to consider an amendment in the nature of a substitute [35 pages in PDF].
This bill is titled both the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet-collection, and Online Monitoring Act'' and the "USA FREEDOM Act".
Bill Summary. First, this bill (amendment in the nature of a substitute) would limit the bulk collection of call detail records by amending 50 U.S.C. § 1861.
Section 1861 of Title 50 is the authority for issuance of the telephony metadata orders first reported by news media in June of 2013 based upon disclosures by Edward Snowden. It is also known as Section 501 of the FISA. The 2001 surveillance act (Section II of the USA PATRIOT Act) amended Section 1861/501 in its Section 215. Hence, this section is variously referred to as 215, 501, and 1861.
Second, this bill would limit pen register and trap and trace (PRTT) authority. PRTT orders apply in the context of both telephone numbers to which or from which calls are made, and e-mail addressing information. This bill would limit the use of PRTT orders, issued pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1842, for bulk collection.
Third, this bill would limit the "outside" the US surveillance authority in the FISA. Section 702 of the FISA, which is codified at 50 U.S.C. § 1881a, contains this controversial authority. The bill prohibits its use for reverse targeting, addresses minimization procedures, and limits the use of unlawfully obtained information.
Fourth, this bill would limit National Security Letter (NSL) authority, by limiting its use for bulk collection of records. Like Section 215/501/1861, this is a means for acquiring business records. The relevant statute is codified at 18 U.S.C.§ 2709. This section provides that "A wire or electronic communication service provider shall comply with a request for subscriber information and toll billing records information, or electronic communication transactional records in its custody or possession made by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation".
Fifth, this bill would provide modest reforms of the body titled "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court", including some increased reporting to the Congress and disclosure of opinions.
More Information. This bill has been referred to the HJC, House Intelligence Committee (HIC), and the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC). Multiple referrals make House passage more difficult and less likely. In particular, it is highly unlikely that the HIC would approve this bill without substantial deletions.
Also, there is the matter of the Senate.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC), is the sponsor the Senate version of the USA FREEDOM ACT, S 1599 [LOC | WW]. That bill has 21 cosponsors. He also praised the amendment in the nature of a substitute released on May 5.
Sen. Leahy stated in a release that "I congratulate Chairman Goodlatte, Ranking Member Conyers, and Congressman Sensenbrenner on moving forward in the House Judiciary Committee with an agreement on the USA FREEDOM Act. When Congressman Sensenbrenner and I introduced this bill last fall, we sought to end the dragnet collection of Americans' phone records and also ensure that other surveillance authorities cannot be used in a similar way. The agreement announced today does just that. I will closely review this serious proposal, and I hope eventually it will retain some important reforms related to national security letters, a strong special advocate at the FISA court, and greater transparency. The President has agreed that the government’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records must end, and now Congress must act."
Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced HR 3361 on October 29, 2013. It now has 123 cosponsors -- 67 Republicans and 76 Democrats. The HJC held a hearing titled "Examining Recommendations to Reform FISA Authorities" on February 4, 2014. See, HJC web page with hyperlinks to transcript, video, and prepared testimony.
Rep. Sensenbrenner (at right), Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rep. Gerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) stated in a joint release that "As the Committee of primary jurisdiction, we have conducted robust oversight of the intelligence-gathering programs operated under FISA and have come to the conclusion that these programs are in need of reform to protect our privacy, including prohibiting bulk collection under Section 215.
They continued that "Over the past several months, we have worked together across party lines and with the Administration and have reached a bipartisan solution that includes real protections for Americans’ civil liberties, robust oversight, and additional transparency, while preserving our ability to protect America’s national security. We look forward to taking up this legislation on Wednesday and continuing to work with House leaders to reform these programs."
House Intelligence Committee to Hold Closed Mark Up of Its FISA Reform Bill
5/5. The House Intelligence Committee (HIC) announced that it will hold a closed meeting to mark up HR 4291 [LOC | WW], a bill that would make changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), on Thursday, May 8 at 10:00 AM. See, HIC release.
This bill is titled the "FISA Transparency and Modernization Act of 2014". Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the Chairman of the HIC introduced it on March 25, 2014. It now has 13 cosponsors, including Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), the ranking Democratic on the HIC. All but one are members of the HIC.
Rep. Rogers (at right) and Rep. Ruppersberger stated in the HIC release that "This bill directly addresses the privacy concerns many Americans have expressed over bulk collection. The bill ends bulk collection of telephone metadata and increases transparency while maintaining the tools our government needs to keep Americans and our allies safe. We believe this bill responds to the concerns many Members of Congress have expressed and can be the compromise vehicle to reform FISA while preserving important counterterrorism capabilities."
Bill Summary. This bill would limit the bulk collection of call detail records under Section 215/501/1861, 50 U.S.C. § 1861.
This bill would prohibit bulk collection under any provision of the FISA of "library circulation records, library patron lists, book sales records, book customer lists, firearm sales records, tax return records, educational records, or medical records containing information that would identify a person without the use of specific identifiers or selection terms."
(This would not prohibit bulk collection of such records under Title 18 authority, such as NSL authority. On the other hand, Rep. Rogers could not have referenced this section without giving the judiciary committees claims to jurisdiction. Also, NSLs apply to a "wire or electronic communication service provider".)
This bill would provide that the government may not collect under the FISA "records of any electronic communication without the use of specific identifiers or selection terms". The terms "specific identifiers" and "selection terms" are not defined either by this bill, or by the definitional section of the FISA, 50 U.S.C. § 1801.
This bill would provide for some reforms of the body titled "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court".
This bill also contains several provisions intended to reduce the probability that any persons similar to Edward Snowden will work for the NSA or a contractor of the NSA.
This bill would also add a new surveillance provision to the FISA. This new provision would allow the government to "authorize ... for a period of up to 1 year ... the acquisition from an electronic communication service provider of records created as a result of communications of an individual or facility who, based on reasonable and articulable suspicion, is (1) a foreign power or the agent of a foreign power; (2) associated with a foreign power or the agent of a foreign power; or (3) in contact with, or known to, a suspected agent of a foreign power." (The terms "foreign power" and "agent of a foreign power" are terms or art broadly defined in Section 1801.)
This bill is the HIC's more limited alternative to HR 3361 [LOC | WW], the USA FREEDOM ACT, sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), and 142 others. Both provide for surveillance reform. HR 3361 is the broader of the two bills.
Committee Turf Battle. In addition, there is a turf war between committees in both the House and Senate. Foreign intelligence and the FISA, which is in Title 50 of the U.S. Code, lie within the jurisdiction of the HIC and Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC).
The National Security Letter (NSL) authority, some pen register and trap and trace (PRTT) authority, the Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) are in Title 18, the criminal code, and lie within the jurisdiction of the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) and Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC).
For about a decade, the HIC and SIC have significantly displaced the HJC and SJC as the lead committees on both oversight and legislation pertaining to government surveillance conducted under both Titles 50 and 18.
Rep. Sensenbrenner, unlike Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the SJC, is not constrained by partisan loyalties to President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder. Moreover, SJC members have recently been occupied by another bill, S 1720 [LOC | WW], the "Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013".
Eight of the nine Republican cosponsors of HR 4291 are members of the HIC. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS), Rep. Michele Bachman (R-MN), Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), Peter King (R-NY), Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Rep. Michael Conaway (R-GA), and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA).
In addition to Rep. Ruppersberger, whose district is home to the National Security Agency (NSA) and many of its employees, the other Democratic cosponsors of the bill are Rep. James Langevin (D-RI), Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), and Rep. Thompson (R-CA).
The only member of the House of Representatives who is a cosponsor of HR 4291 who is not a member of the HIC is Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR).
House Commerce Committee to Mark Up DOTCOM Bill and STELA Reauthorization Bill
5/5. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) announced that it will mark up HR 4342 [LOC | WW], the "Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014", also known as the DOTCOM Act, and a yet to be introduced STELA reauthorization bill, on May 7 at 4:00 PM (opening statements only) and May 8 at 10:00 AM. See, notice.
This bill requires that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to write a report regarding a proposal that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) receives "relating to the relinquishment of the responsibility of the NTIA over Internet domain name system functions".
The bill further provides that until then, the NTIA "may not relinquish or agree to any proposal relating to the relinquishment of the responsibility" of the NTIA "over Internet domain name system functions, including responsibility with respect to the authoritative root zone file, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions, and related root zone management functions."
See, NTIA March 14, 2014 release and release proposing to relinquish US control.
This main provision of the draft bill is reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA). It provides for a five year extension. However, this bill also addresses the FCC's media ownership rules, retransmission consent, sweeps week, the integration ban, and other issues.
See also, story titled "HCC/SCT Marks Up STELA Reauthorization Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,636, March 25, 2014.
Copyright Office Schedules Three Roundtables for its Music Licensing Inquiry
5/5. The Copyright Office (CO) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces the dates, times and places of its public roundtables in its inquiry proceeding regarding music licensing issues.
The Copyright Office (CO) published a notice in the FR on March 17, 2014 that announced "the initiation of a study to evaluate the effectiveness of existing methods of licensing music". That notice contains a summary of current music licensing practices and laws, and 24 questions for public comment. See also, story titled "Copyright Office Seeks Comments on Music Licensing" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,634, March 19, 2014.
The deadline to submit written comments remains May 16, 2014. These events are open to the public. The deadline to submit requests to participate (as opposed to observing) is May 20, 2014.
The first two day roundtable will be held at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee on June 4 and 5. The second roundtable will be held in UCLA law school in Los Angeles, California on June 16 and 17. The third roundtable will be held at New York University law school in New York City, New York on June 23 and 24.
The just released notice is published at FR, Vol. 79, No. 86, May 5, 2014, at Page 25626. The March notice was published at FR, Vol. 79, No. 51, March 17, 2014, at Pages 14739-14743.
• House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Surveillance Reform Bill
• House Intelligence Committee to Hold Closed Mark Up of Its FISA Reform Bill
• House Commerce Committee to Mark Up DOTCOM Bill and STELA Reauthorization Bill
• Copyright Office Schedules Three Roundtables for its Music Licensing Inquiry
5:00 PM. The House Rules Committee will meet to adopt rules for consideration of several bills, including HR 4438 [LOC | WW, the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014". See, notice, and story titled "House Ways and Means Committee Approves Bill to Make R&D Tax Credit Permanent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,652, May 2, 2014. Location: Room H-313, Capitol Building.
The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House may consider HR 4438 [LOC | WW, the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014", and story titled "House Ways and Means Committee Approves Bill to Make R&D Tax Credit Permanent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,652, May 2, 2014.. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.
10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will meet to mark up 15 bills, and adopt a resolution authorizing the issuance of subpoenas for records by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Treasury (DOT). Several of these bills would make it easier for small and startup companies in the tech sector to raise capital. See, notice of hearing, and HFSC memorandum summarizing the bills to be considered. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.
1:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up HR 3361 [LOC | WW], the "Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet-collection, and Online Monitoring Act'' or "USA FREEDOM Act". See also, story titled "House Judiciary Committee to Mark Up Surveillance Reform Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,654, May 6, 2014. Webcast. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.
4:00 PM. The House Commerce's Committee (HCC) will meet to begin its mark up of HR 4342 [LOC | WW], the "Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014", also known as the DOTCOM Act. The Wednesday portion of this meeting is for opening statements only. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
10:00 AM. The House Commerce's Committee (HCC) will meet to complete its mark up of HR 4342 [LOC | WW], the "Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014", also known as the DOTCOM Act. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.
The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule. The House may consider HR 4438 [LOC | WW], the "American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014". See, story titled "House Ways and Means Committee Approves Bill to Make R&D Tax Credit Permanent" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,652, May 2, 2014.