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counterintelligence investigation that is not premised solely on activities protected by the First
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Amendment.
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(U) After the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act, which revised the
business records provision of FISA. Specifically, Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act expanded
the business records provision to allow the government to request a FISA court order compelling
the production of any “tangible things,” including books, records, papers, and documents that are
relevant to an authorized FBI investigation.

(U) Under Section 215, the FISA court authorized the government’s collection of
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virtually all CDRs held by certain US phone providers. This collection program was commonly
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referred to as the “bulk” CDR program. Approximately every 90 days, the government filed an
application with the FISA court requesting an order that providers continue to produce their
CDRs to NSA. When the FISA court approved an application, the court issued orders,
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including secondary orders directly addressed to providers. The secondary orders required the
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providers to produce their CDRs to NSA “on an ongoing daily basis” for the ninety-day duration
of the order.
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(U) NSA stored these CDRs in a database that trained analysts could access as part of
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NSA’s counterterrorism mission. In 2013, NSA stated that the program enabled

6 (U) 50 U.S.C. § 1861(a)(1).
7 (U) The full name of the USA Patriot Act is the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act.” Pub. L. No. 107-56 (2001) (codified as amended at 50
U.S.C. § 1861 et seq.).
8 (U) Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, Report on the Telephone Records Program Conducted under
Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act and on the Operations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (2014)
[hereinafter 2014 Board Report], https://www.pclob.gov/library/215-
Report_on_the_Telephone_Records_Program.pdf; Amended Memorandum Opinion, In re application of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation for an Order requiring the Production of Tangible Things, No. BR 13–109 (FISA
Ct. Aug. 29, 2013); Memorandum Opinion, In re Application of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for an Order
Requiring the Production of Tangible Things, No. BR 13–158 (FISA Ct. Oct. 11, 2013).
9 (U) The phrase “bulk” collection does not appear in FISA; rather, it is commonly used in this context to refer to the
collection of large amounts of data that is not limited by a specific selection term or individualized suspicion. Cf.
Presidential Policy Directive 28 (2014) (defining bulk collection as “collection of large quantities of signals
intelligence data . . . which is acquired without the use of discriminants (e.g., specific identifiers, selection terms,
etc.)”). Collection of data that is not “bulk,” as commonly understood, may nonetheless result in the government’s
acquisition of very large volumes of data.

10 (U) See Order, In re Application of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for an Order Requiring the Production of
Tangible Things from [Redacted], No. BR 06–05, 2–3 (FISA Ct. May 24, 2006) (“CDR Order”).
11 (U) 2014 Board Report at 23.
12 (U) 2014 Board Report at 23–24.

13 (U) 2014 Board Report at 29.

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