ODNI Releases March 2025 FISC Section 702 Certification Opinion and Related Procedures

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ODNI News Release No. 29-25
September 12, 2025

ODNI Releases March 2025 FISC Section 702 Certification Opinion and Related Procedures

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), in consultation with the Department of Justice (DOJ), is publicly releasing a March 2025 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) opinion and associated targeting, minimization, and querying procedures with redactions issued under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The FISC opinion approved the Government's renewal certifications (hereinafter "the 2025 Certifications") to collect foreign intelligence information about international terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and foreign governments. This effort confirms the U.S. Government's commitment to protecting the nation while upholding civil liberty protections of U.S. citizens.

The Government may submit certifications to the FISC that specify the categories of foreign intelligence information that the Intelligence Community (IC) is authorized to collect using FISA Section 702. With any submitted Section 702 certification, the Government also must submit targeting, minimization, and querying procedures, which ensure that FISA Section 702 is used to target only non-United States persons located outside the United States, for the purpose of acquiring foreign intelligence information; safeguarding any U.S. person information incidentally acquired; and governing the querying of unminimized information that is lawfully collected, respectively.

In this matter, the FISC appointed amici curiae to assess how certain statutory interpretations advanced in connection with the Government's counternarcotics certification, which was then separately pending before the Court, would inform how the Government would implement the procedures submitted with the 2025 Certifications. In reviewing the 2025 Certifications, the FISC considered, among other things, how the procedures are implemented including in relation to issues of non-compliance. As it pertained to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) compliance with the querying standard, in particular, the FISC noted that the reforms the FBI has implemented, including some required by the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, seem to be improving the FBI's overall query compliance record. The FISC ultimately concluded that the certifications and procedures met all the statutory requirements in FISA and were consistent with the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

This opinion contained a significant or novel construction of law. As a result, DOJ produced a classified version of this opinion to the appropriate congressional committees within 45 days of its issuance. See 50 U.S.C. § 1871(c). ODNI also produced the classified versions of the opinion, certifications, and procedures to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

Consistent with Executive Order 13526, when developing the redacted copies of the opinion and procedures, ODNI consulted with the DOJ, FBI, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) to identify what information must remain redacted because release could reasonably be expected to result in damage to national security and to identify what, if any, information should be submitted for public interest declassification. This review also was conducted to ensure that information is not redacted to conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error or to prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency.

The information is redacted because it will reveal sources and methods that can cause exceptionally grave or serious damage to national security. Revealing such information would provide means for adversaries to change their behaviors and avoid detection. Many of the redactions relate to detailed factual descriptions of specific targets, techniques, and technology that support the FISC's finding that the certifications and procedures meet statutory requirements and are consistent with the Fourth Amendment. While the specific sensitive facts must remain classified, the legal analysis leading to the Court's finding are unclassified and being released.

This FISC opinion is being released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1872. The minimization procedures are being released pursuant to 50 U.S.C. § 1881a(e). The release of the targeting and querying procedures is consistent with the IC's commitment to the Principles of Intelligence Transparency. These documents, along with previous FISC opinions and additional public information on national security authorities, are available in full-text searchable format on https://www.intel.gov.

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