§ 1801. Definitions

6,404 words·~29 min read·/usc/title-50/section-1801

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

As used in this subchapter:

(a)“Foreign power” means—

(1)a foreign government or any component thereof, whether or not recognized by the United States;

(2)a faction of a foreign nation or nations, not substantially composed of United States persons;

(3)an entity that is openly acknowledged by a foreign government or governments to be directed and controlled by such foreign government or governments;

(4)a group engaged in international terrorism or activities in preparation therefor;

(5)a foreign-based political organization, not substantially composed of United States persons;

(6)an entity that is directed and controlled by a foreign government or governments; or

(7)an entity not substantially composed of United States persons that is engaged in the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

(b)“Agent of a foreign power” means—

(1)any person other than a United States person, who—

(A)acts in the United States as an officer or employee of a foreign power, or as a member of a foreign power as defined in subsection (a)(4), irrespective of whether the person is inside the United States;

(B)acts for or on behalf of a foreign power which engages in clandestine intelligence activities in the United States contrary to the interests of the United States, when the circumstances indicate that such person may engage in such activities, or when such person knowingly aids or abets any person in the conduct of such activities or knowingly conspires with any person to engage in such activities;

(C)Omitted

(D)engages in the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or activities in preparation therefor; or

(E)engages in the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or activities in preparation therefor, for or on behalf of a foreign power, or knowingly aids or abets any person in the conduct of such proliferation or activities in preparation therefor, or knowingly conspires with any person to engage in such proliferation or activities in preparation therefor; or

(2)any person who—

(A)knowingly engages in clandestine intelligence gathering activities for or on behalf of a foreign power, which activities involve or may involve a violation of the criminal statutes of the United States;

(B)pursuant to the direction of an intelligence service or network of a foreign power, knowingly engages in any other clandestine intelligence activities for or on behalf of such foreign power, which activities involve or are about to involve a violation of the criminal statutes of the United States;

(C)knowingly engages in sabotage or international terrorism, or activities that are in preparation therefor, for or on behalf of a foreign power;

(D)knowingly enters the United States under a false or fraudulent identity for or on behalf of a foreign power or, while in the United States, knowingly assumes a false or fraudulent identity for or on behalf of a foreign power; or

(E)knowingly aids or abets any person in the conduct of activities described in subparagraph (A), (B), or

(C)or knowingly conspires with any person to engage in activities described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).

(c)“International terrorism” means activities that—

(1)involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or any State;

(2)appear to be intended—

(A)to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(B)to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(C)to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping; and

(3)occur totally outside the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to coerce or intimidate, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum.

(d)“Sabotage” means activities that involve a violation of chapter 105 of title 18, or that would involve such a violation if committed against the United States.

(e)“Foreign intelligence information” means—

(1)information that relates to, and if concerning a United States person is necessary to, the ability of the United States to protect against—

(A)actual or potential attack or other grave hostile acts of a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power;

(B)sabotage, international terrorism, or the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power;

(C)clandestine intelligence activities by an intelligence service or network of a foreign power or by an agent of a foreign power; or

(D)international production, distribution, or financing of illicit synthetic drugs, opioids, cocaine, or other drugs driving overdose deaths, or precursors of any aforementioned; or

(2)information with respect to a foreign power or foreign territory that relates to, and if concerning a United States person is necessary to—

(A)the national defense or the security of the United States; or

(B)the conduct of the foreign affairs of the United States.

(f)“Electronic surveillance” means—

(1)the acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any wire or radio communication sent by or intended to be received by a particular, known United States person who is in the United States, if the contents are acquired by intentionally targeting that United States person, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes;

(2)the acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any wire communication to or from a person in the United States, without the consent of any party thereto, if such acquisition occurs in the United States, but does not include the acquisition of those communications of computer trespassers that would be permissible under section 2511(2)(i) of title 18;

(3)the intentional acquisition by an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device of the contents of any radio communication, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes, and if both the sender and all intended recipients are located within the United States; or

(4)the installation or use of an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device in the United States for monitoring to acquire information, other than from a wire or radio communication, under circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes.

(g)“Attorney General” means the Attorney General of the United States (or Acting Attorney General), the Deputy Attorney General, or, upon the designation of the Attorney General, the Assistant Attorney General designated as the Assistant Attorney General for National Security under section 507A of title 28.

(h)“Minimization procedures”, with respect to electronic surveillance, means—

(1)specific procedures, which shall be adopted by the Attorney General, that are reasonably designed in light of the purpose and technique of the particular surveillance, to minimize the acquisition and retention, and prohibit the dissemination, of nonpublicly available information concerning unconsenting United States persons consistent with the need of the United States to obtain, produce, and disseminate foreign intelligence information;

(2)procedures that require that nonpublicly available information, which is not foreign intelligence information, as defined in subsection (e)(1), shall not be disseminated in a manner that identifies any United States person, without such person’s consent, unless such person’s identity is necessary to understand foreign intelligence information or assess its importance;

(3)notwithstanding paragraphs

(1)and (2), procedures that allow for the retention and dissemination of information that is evidence of a crime which has been, is being, or is about to be committed and that is to be retained or disseminated for law enforcement purposes; and

(4)notwithstanding paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), with respect to any electronic surveillance approved pursuant to section 1802(a) of this title, procedures that require that no contents of any communication to which a United States person is a party shall be disclosed, disseminated, or used for any purpose or retained for longer than 72 hours unless a court order under section 1805 of this title is obtained or unless the Attorney General determines that the information indicates a threat of death or serious bodily harm to any person.

(i)“United States person” means a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 1101(a)(20) of title 8), an unincorporated association a substantial number of members of which are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or a corporation which is incorporated in the United States, but does not include a corporation or an association which is a foreign power, as defined in subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3).

(j)“United States”, when used in a geographic sense, means all areas under the territorial sovereignty of the United States and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

(k)“Aggrieved person” means a person who is the target of an electronic surveillance or any other person whose communications or activities were subject to electronic surveillance.

(l)“Wire communication” means any communication while it is being carried by a wire, cable, or other like connection furnished or operated by any person engaged as a common carrier in providing or operating such facilities for the transmission of interstate or foreign communications.

(m)“Person” means any individual, including any officer or employee of the Federal Government, or any group, entity, association, corporation, or foreign power.

(n)“Contents”, when used with respect to a communication, includes any information concerning the identity of the parties to such communication or the existence, substance, purport, or meaning of that communication.

(o)“State” means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any territory or possession of the United States.

(p)“Weapon of mass destruction” means—

(1)any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas device that is designed, intended, or has the capability to cause a mass casualty incident;

(2)any weapon that is designed, intended, or has the capability to cause death or serious bodily injury to a significant number of persons through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals or their precursors;

(3)any weapon involving a biological agent, toxin, or vector (as such terms are defined in section 178 of title 18) that is designed, intended, or has the capability to cause death, illness, or serious bodily injury to a significant number of persons; or

(4)any weapon that is designed, intended, or has the capability to release radiation or radioactivity causing death, illness, or serious bodily injury to a significant number of persons.

(Pub. L. 95–511, title I, § 101, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1783; Pub. L. 106–120, title VI, § 601, Dec. 3, 1999, 113 Stat. 1619; Pub. L. 107–56, title X, § 1003, Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 392; Pub. L. 107–108, title III, § 314(a)(1), (c)(2), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1402, 1403; Pub. L. 108–458, title VI, § 6001(a), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3742; Pub. L. 109–177, title V, § 506(a)(5), Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 248; Pub. L. 110–261, title I, § 110(a), July 10, 2008, 122 Stat. 2465; Pub. L. 111–259, title VIII, § 801(1), Oct. 7, 2010, 124 Stat. 2746; Pub. L. 114–23, title VII, §§ 702, 703, June 2, 2015, 129 Stat. 300; Pub. L. 118–49, § 23, Apr. 20, 2024, 138 Stat. 893.)