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response to the initial specific selection term. 250 In short, it authorized the government to obtain
two hops of CDRs on an ongoing basis.
(U) The statutory framework also imposed boundaries on CDR collection. A notable
limitation arose from the definition of “call detail record,” which the statute defined to exclude
the contents of a communication, the name of a subscriber or customer, and cell-site location or
global positioning system information. 251 The Board is aware of no instance in which NSA
sought to circumvent this or any other statutory limitation related to the program. 252 For
example, the Board is not aware of any instance in which NSA sought or obtained global
positioning system information, cell-site location information, or the names of subscribers.

(U) The technical architecture created by NSA to collect CDRs under the USA Freedom
Act was designed to comport with the statute. 253 As described in Part II of this report, the system
contained a series of safeguards; many could be mapped directly to the statutory limitations,
while others were implemented for policy and compliance purposes. For example, when
receiving CDRs from providers, NSA’s validation checks could detect if a provider had
accidentally sent additional data fields forbidden by the statute, such as subscriber name or cell-
site location information. The system was technically unable to ingest information not contained
in the roughly fifty specified data fields. 254

2. (U) Compliance Incidents and Data-Integrity Concerns

(U) Beginning in 2016, NSA identified a series of compliance and data-integrity
concerns. These can be divided into two categories: those that could arise in other areas of FISA
or equivalent law enforcement authorities, and those unique to the USA Freedom Act’s statutory
framework.
(U) The incidents involving information omitted from a 2016 application to the FISA
court, 255 certain NSA officers’ missing required training, 256 and a provider’s production of data

250 (U) 50 U.S.C. § 1861(c)(2)(F)(iv).
251 (U) 50 U.S.C. § 1861(k)(3)(B). The statute also required the government to conduct this collection under
approved minimization procedures, and to destroy information as required by those procedures. 50 U.S.C.
§ 1861(c)(2)(A), (F)(vii).
252 (U) Other statutory requirements include that collection be based on a specific selection term, that the
government have approved minimization procedures, and that it destroys information as required by those
procedures. 50 U.S.C. § 1861(c)(2)(A), (F)(vii).
253 (U) See Part II(A) for an explanation of this architecture. See also NSA USA Freedom Act Transparency Report.
254 (U//FOUO) See NSA Final Answers to PCLOB Questions (Nov. 22, 2019).
255 (U) Part II(B)(1)(a).

256 (U) Part II(B)(1)(c).

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