Director of National Intelligence vows to release transparency report

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper will begin releasing annual reports about the National Security Agency’s surveillance activity in the coming months, a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has confirmed. The report will disclose the total number of court approvals granted for a range of surveillance requests, including national security letters as well as those made under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Director Clapper promised not only to release the aggregate number of requests for each category, but also the number of targets at which those requests were aimed.

The full list of categories the report will cover includes:

• FISA orders based on probable cause (Titles I and III of FISA, and sections 703 and 704).
• Section 702 of FISA
• FISA Business Records (Title V of FISA)
• FISA Pen Register/Trap and Trace (Title IV of FISA)
• National Security Letters issues pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 3414(a)(5), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681u(a) and (b), 15 U.S.C. § 1681v, and 18 U.S.C. § 2709