foreign intelligence surveillance act
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. A 1978 federal statute that established new procedures and courts to authorize electronic surveillance of foreign intelligence operations in the United States. • The Act established the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Court of Review. It allows the Attorney General to obtain warrants that authorize electronic surveillance of suspected foreign-intelligence operatives without public disclosure and without a showing of probable cause that criminal activity is involved. — Abbr. FISA.
