Other federal statutes also authorize government authorities to issue NSLs in connection with counterintelligence and counterterrorism investigations. See 12 U.S.C. § 3414(a)(5); 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681u-1681v; 50 U.S.C. § 3162 In a letter dated March 10, 2015, FPF submitted a FOIA request to the FBI seeking the following records: (A) the extensive regime, rules, guidelines, or infrastructure that oversees the issuance of NSLs or exigent letters to obtain records regarding a member of the media; (B) the current procedures that FBI agents must undertake in advance of issuing a NSL or Exigent Letter to obtain records regarding any member of the media, including any pre- approval process; (C) the current procedures that FBI agents must undertake after issuing a NSL or Exigent Letter to obtain records regarding any member of the media, including any mandatory subsequent reporting process; and (D) any changes in FBI policy, procedure, or practice after the issuance of the U.S. Dept. Of Justice, Report on Review of News Media Policies (2013) and U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1 As discussed further below, the FBI also redacted certain materials pursuant to Exe

However, in order to get that information the FBI must issue a national security letter (“NSL”) to the phone company. NSLs do not require any judicial oversight, see 18 U.S.C. § 2709; 12 U.S.C. § 3414, 15 U.S.C. § 1681u; 15 U.S.C. § 1681v; 50 U.S.C. § 3162, meaning they are hardly a check on potential abuses. There is also nothing stopping the Government from skipping the NSL step altogether and using public databases or any of its other vast resources to match phone numbers with subscribers.