United States of America: Implemented Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (HR 7888)

On 20 April 2024, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (HR 7888) entered into force after being signed by the President of the United States. The Act reauthorises Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for five years. Title VII was set to expire on 31 December 2023 and was reauthorised until 19 April 2024 through the engrossed version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (HR 2670). The Act imposes new rules on the querying of information collected under Section 702, particularly by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The Act requires prior approval for queries involving US citizens and prohibits the involvement of political appointees in the approval process for politically sensitive query requests. Furthermore, the Act requires the FBI director to establish remedies for noncompliance. Additionally, it requires sworn statements for applications for surveillance orders under the FISA, limit information from political or media sources, and imposes penalties for government officials engaging in misconduct.