The number of searches on Americans conducted by the FBI in a controversial foreign intelligence database fell by almost half in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to a new report released Tuesday by the U.S. intelligence community.
The FBI searches, some of which were deemed inappropriate in the past, have been a flash point in a months-long struggle in Congress on reauthorization of a surveillance program called Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
The number of FBI queries on what the report describes as “U.S. persons” between December 2022 and November 2023 fell to 57,094 from 119,383 the previous year, according to the annual Statistical Transparency Report, released by the Bureau of the director of national intelligence. .
“These reductions came as a result of a number of changes the FBI made to its systems, processes, and training relating to U.S. persons queries,” the report said.
A senior Justice Department official who briefed reporters Tuesday said this year’s total figure did not specify how many requests may have been inappropriate, but said the Justice Department conducts regular audits of the Justice Department’s requests. desk.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers raised objections to elements of the surveillance program that they said infringed on Americans’ privacy and civil liberties. cited past misuse by FBI. In its push for reauthorization, the Biden administration has argued that Section 702 is a critical tool to protect U.S. national security.
President Biden signed the bill on April 20, reauthorizing Section 702 for two additional years.
Published annually since National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s unauthorized disclosures of domestic surveillance programs in 2013, the report offers an account of the intelligence community’s use of surveillance authorities, including some may affect Americans.
The total number of Section 702 targets — all of whom are classified as “non-U.S. persons” —- increased to 268,590 from 246,073 in 2022, continuing a steady year-over-year growth trend. ‘other.
Rebecca Richards, head of ODNI’s Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy and Transparency, said Tuesday that the total number of targets “has increased over time as (the intelligence community) continues to meet its clients’ traditional and emerging foreign intelligence needs.
The report also notes a significant increase in the number of Americans “unmasked” by the NSA in response to specific requests from government agencies. In 2023, this number increased to 31,330 compared to 11,511 in 2022.
“Unmasking” refers to the disclosure of redacted identities in classified documents, which some agencies and government officials may request.
A senior intelligence official explained that the term “US person” could refer to “technical” and “machine” identifiers, including IP addresses associated with US companies, and said the marked increase in requests for unmasking this year was linked to a single intelligence report on attempts. by a foreign cyber actor to compromise US critical infrastructure.
“’An American person means more than just a human being,’” Richards added. “This was related to the critical infrastructure of these American companies. So it’s still information about American persons, even if it’s not an individualized human being.”
Officials who briefed reporters Tuesday did not provide additional details about the foreign actor or the type of infrastructure in question.
American officials have warned in recent months of a sprawling campaign by Chinese hackers targeting U.S. infrastructure in an operation known as “Volt Typhoon,” and said malicious actors from Russia and Iran continue to pose a risk to key sectors.
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