In re Directives Pursuant to Section 105B of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Under the Protect America Act's temporary amendments to FISA, the government issued 2007 directives ordering a communications service provider (plaintiff) to assist warrantless surveillance of specified customers reasonably believed to be foreign agents located outside the United States; the provider refused and challenged the government's authority before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which upheld the directives and compelled compliance, and the provider petitioned for review, arguing the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement applied or, alternatively, that the surveillance was unreasonable even under a foreign intelligence exception.