U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

 

 

Washington, D. C. 20535-0001
November 7, 2016

Andrew Crocker
Staff Attorney

Electronic Frontier Foundation
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

RE: National Security Letter File No. NSL-
Dear Mr. Crocker:

We are in receipt of your September 3, 2016 letter regarding a national security letter
delivered to your client, Internet Archive (?the Archive?) by Federal Bureau of
Investigation personnel on August 24, 2016. This letter is to notify your client that the
FBI hereby withdraws the aforementioned NSL. In addition, the FBI does not object to
publication of either the redacted NSL or your September 8, 2016 letter with your proposed
redactions.

The FBI has also determined that the NSL template it used for its request to your client
required ?irrher modi?cations to more accurately re?ect certain amendments to the NSL statute
made by the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 Although the NSL provided notice to
the Archive of its right to have a court review the nondisclosure requirement imposed in
connection with the NSL, and that the FBI would initiate such proceedings if the Archive wished
to have a court conduct such a review, the language did not indicate that your client may request
judicial review of the nondisclosure requirement at any time.

As such, the FBI has updated the text of its standard NSL template to clarify the means
by which a recipient may obtain judicial review of an NSL nondisclosure requirement, as well as
how the FBI must respond if a recipient so noti?es the FBI of its wish to have a court to review a
nondisclosure requirement. For your reference, below is the updated text with respect to judicial
review now contained in the standard NSL template:

IIHIHR
In accordance with 18 U.S.C. 3511(b), you have the right to have a court review the

nondisclosure requirement imposed in connection with this letter. If you wish to have a court
conduct such a review, you may ?le a petition for judicial review in any court described in 18

U.S.C. 3511(a). In the alternative, you may notify the FBI of your desire for judicial review of
the nondisclosure requirement. Written notice may be mailed or faxed to [the FBI Division Field
Of?ce that issued the with a copy mailed to FBI Headquarters, 935 Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20535, Attention: General Counsel. Your notice should reference the
date of this letter and the File Number listed on the upper left corner of this letter. If the FBI
determines that the nondisclosure requirement continues to be apprOpriate, not later than 30 days
after the date of the receipt of the notice, the FBI shall apply in a court described in 18
U.S.C. 3511(b)(1)(B) for an order prohibiting the disclosure of the existence or contents of this
letter. The nondisclosure requirement shall remain in effect during the pendency of the legal
proceedings relating to the nondisclosure requirement.

irrk?

We would like to thank you and the Archive for contacting us about this matter. In
addition to updating the text of its standard NSL template, the FBI is providing notice of the
update to entities that may have received NSLs during the relevant time period in order to clarify
the means by which they may obtain judicial review of any such NSLs.

Should you have any questions, please contact- DOJ Federal Programs, at

Sincerely,

Mane?

Trisha B. Anderson
Deputy General Counsel
Federal Bureau of Investigation