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also requires that this information be reported publicly — except for any written findings
supporting any decision not to appoint an amicus curiae.

Recommendation 9: Permit Companies to Disclose Information about

Their Receipt of FISA Production Orders, and Disclose More Detailed
Statistics on Surveillance

Status:

Implemented (USA FREEDOM Act)

Text of the Board’s Recommendation:

The government should work with Internet service providers and other companies that
regularly receive FISA production orders to develop rules permitting the companies to
voluntarily disclose certain statistical information. In addition, the government should
publicly disclose more detailed statistics to provide a more complete picture of government
surveillance operations.

Explanation for the Recommendation:

One important way to understand and assess any government program is numerically — to
categorize its critical elements and count them. Periodic public reporting on surveillance
programs is a valuable tool promoting accountability and public understanding. We believe
that publication of additional numerical information on the frequency with which various
surveillance authorities are being used would be possible without allowing terrorists to
improve their tradecraft.

In recent years, U.S. companies have begun publishing reports showing, country by
country, how many government demands they receive for disclosure of user data. Because
we believe this kind of reporting can be useful in building and maintaining public trust, we
recommended that the government work with companies to permit disclosure of more
detailed information.
In addition, the Board recommended that the government report more detailed
information. To ensure that government reports are meaningful, the government would
have to distinguish between particularized programs and those involving bulk collection. In
the case of targeted programs, the government should disclose how many orders have been
issued and how many individuals have been targeted.

Discussion of Status:

Title VI of the USA FREEDOM Act both requires further public reporting by the government
and permits further transparency reporting by private companies, and thus covers both
parts of the Board’s recommendation.

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