Many headlines have used FISA during the past few
years, but a good number of people do not really know what it
is. It is a United States federal law that establishes
procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and
collection of "foreign intelligence information" between
"foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers" suspected of
espionage or terrorism. The Act created the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Court (FISC) to oversee requests for surveillance
warrants by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) permits the
National Security Agency (NSA) to collect massive amounts of
internet communications and associated data. NSA was founded in
1952 and is a member of the Defense Department and an
Intelligence Community agency. Its goals are to discover
adversaries' secrets, protect U.S. secrets, and outmaneuver our
adversaries in cyberspace while at the same time protecting the
privacy rights of the American people.