2016-22412. Privacy Act of 1974; Implementation  

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    AGENCY:

    Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Justice.

    ACTION:

    Notice of proposed rulemaking.

    SUMMARY:

    Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a component of the United States Department of Justice (“Department” or “DOJ”), has published a notice of a new Privacy Act system of records, “FBI Insider Threat Program Records (ITPR),” JUSTICE/FBI-023. In this notice of proposed rulemaking, the FBI proposes to exempt this system from certain provisions of the Privacy Act in order to avoid interference with efforts to detect, deter, and/or mitigate insider threats to national security or to the FBI and its personnel, facilities, resources, and activities. For the reasons provided below, the Department proposes to amend its Privacy Act regulations by establishing an exemption for records in this system from certain provisions of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) and (k). Public comment is invited.

    DATES:

    Comments must be received by October 19, 2016.

    ADDRESSES:

    Address all comments to the U.S. Department of Justice, ATTN: Privacy Analyst, Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties, National Place Building, 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20530-0001 or facsimile 202-307-0693. To ensure proper handling, please reference the CPCLO Order No. on your correspondence. You may review an electronic version of the proposed rule at http://www.regulations.gov,, and you may also comment by using that Web site's comment form for this regulation. When submitting comments electronically, you must include the CPCLO Order No. in the subject box.

    Please note that the Department is requesting that electronic comments be submitted before midnight Eastern Daylight Savings Time on the day the comment period closes because http://www.regulations.gov terminates the public's ability to submit comments at that time. Commenters in time zones other than Eastern Time may want to consider this so that their electronic comments are received. All comments sent via regular or express mail will be considered timely if postmarked on the day the comment period closes.

    Posting of Public Comments: Please note that all comments received are considered part of the public record and made available for public inspection online at http://www.regulations.gov and in the Department's public docket. Such information includes personally identifying information (such as your name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter.

    If you want to submit personally identifying information (such as your name, address, etc.) as part of your comment, but do not want it to be posted online or made available in the public docket, you must include the phrase “PERSONALLY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION” in the first paragraph of your comment. You must also place all personally identifying information you do not want posted online or made available in the public docket in the first paragraph of your comment and identify what information you want redacted.

    If you want to submit confidential business information as part of your comment, but do not want it to be posted online or made available in the public docket, you must include the phrase “CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION” in the first paragraph of your comment. You must also prominently identify confidential business information to be redacted within the comment. If a comment has so much confidential business information that it cannot be effectively redacted, all or part of that comment Start Printed Page 64093may not be posted online or made available in the public docket.

    Personally identifying information and confidential business information identified and located as set forth above will be redacted and the comment, in redacted form, will be posted online and placed in the Department's public docket file. Please note that the Freedom of Information Act applies to all comments received. If you wish to inspect the agency's public docket file in person by appointment, please see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph.

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    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

    Richard R. Brown, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Assistant General Counsel, Privacy and Civil Liberties Unit, Office of the General Counsel, J. Edgar Hoover Building, 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20535-0001, telephone 202-324-3000.

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    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    The Presidential Memorandum—National Insider Threat Policy and Minimum Standards for Executive Branch Insider Threat Programs (Nov. 21, 2012) states that an insider threat is the threat that any person with authorized access to any United States Government resources, to include personnel, facilities, information, equipment, networks or systems, will use her/his authorized access, wittingly or unwittingly, to do harm to the security of the United States through espionage, terrorism, unauthorized disclosure of national security information, or through the loss or degradation of departmental resources or capabilities.

    In the Notice section of today's Federal Register, the FBI has established a new Privacy Act system of records, “FBI Insider Threat Program Records (ITPR),” JUSTICE/FBI-023. The system serves as a repository for FBI information and for information lawfully received from other federal agencies or purchased from private companies and permits the comparison of data sets in order to provide a more complete picture of potential insider threats.

    In this rulemaking, the FBI proposes to exempt this Privacy Act system of records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act in order to avoid interference with the responsibilities of the FBI to detect, deter, and/or mitigate insider threats as established by federal law and policy. For an overview of the Privacy Act, see: https://www.justice.gov/​opcl/​privacy-act-1974.

    Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This proposed rule relates to individuals rather than small business entities. Pursuant to the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, therefore, the proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

    Small Entity Inquiries

    The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 1996, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., requires the FBI to comply with small entity requests for information and advice about compliance with statutes and regulations within FBI jurisdiction. Any small entity that has a question regarding this document may contact the person listed in FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons can obtain further information regarding SBREFA on the Small Business Administration's Web page at http://www.sba.gov/​advo/​archive/​sum_​sbrefa.html.

    Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507(d), requires that the FBI consider the impact of paperwork and other information collection burdens imposed on the public. There are no current or new information collection requirements associated with this proposed rule. The records that are contributed to this system may be provided by individuals covered by this system, the FBI, DOJ, and United States Government components, other domestic and foreign government entities, or purchased from private entities, and sharing of this information electronically will not increase the paperwork burden on the public.

    Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Public Law 103-3, 109 Stat. 48, requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of certain regulatory actions on State, local, and tribal governments, and the private sector. UMRA requires a written statement of economic and regulatory alternatives for proposed and final rules that contain Federal mandates. A “Federal mandate” is a new or additional enforceable duty, imposed on any State, local, or tribal government, or the private sector. If any Federal mandate causes those entities to spend, in aggregate, $100 million or more in any one year, the UMRA analysis is required. This proposed rule would not impose Federal mandates on any State, local, or tribal government or the private sector.

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    List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 16

    • Administrative Practices and Procedures
    • Courts
    • Freedom of Information Act, and the Privacy Act
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    Pursuant to the authority vested in the Attorney General by 5 U.S.C. 552a and delegated to me by Attorney General Order 2940-2008, it is proposed to amend 28 CFR part 16 as follows:

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    PART 16—[AMENDED]

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    1. The authority citation for part 16 continues to read as follows:

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    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552a, 552b(g), 553; 18 U.S.C. 4203(a)(1); 28 U.S.C. 509, 510, 534; 31 U.S.C. 3717, 9701.

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    Subpart E—Exemption of Records Systems Under the Privacy Act

    [AMENDED]
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    2. Amend § 16.96 by adding paragraphs (x) and (y) to read as follows:

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    Exemption of Federal Bureau of Investigation Systems—limited access.
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    (x) The following system of records is exempt from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) and (4); (d)(1), (2), (3) and (4); (e)(1), (2) and (3); (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I); (e)(5) and (8); (f) and (g) of the Privacy Act:

    (1) FBI Insider Threat Program Records (JUSTICE/FBI-023).

    (2) These exemptions apply only to the extent that information in this system is subject to exemption pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) or (k). Where compliance would not appear to interfere with or adversely affect the purpose of this system to detect, deter, and/or mitigate insider threats to national security or to the FBI, the applicable exemption may be waived by the FBI in its sole discretion.

    (y) Exemptions from the particular subsections are justified for the following reasons:

    (1) From subsection (c)(3), the requirement that an accounting be made available to the named subject of a record, because this system is exempt from the access provisions of subsection (d). Also, because making available to a record subject the accounting of disclosures from records concerning him/her would specifically reveal any insider threat-related interest in the individual by the FBI or agencies that are recipients of the disclosures. Revealing this information could compromise ongoing, authorized law enforcement and intelligence efforts, particularly efforts to identify and/or mitigate insider threats to national security or to the FBI. Revealing this Start Printed Page 64094information could also permit the record subject to obtain valuable insight concerning the information obtained during any investigation and to take measures to impede the investigation, e.g., destroy evidence or flee the area to avoid the investigation.

    (2) From subsection (c)(4) notification requirements because this system is exempt from the access and amendment provisions of subsection (d) as well as the accounting of disclosures provision of subsection (c)(3). The FBI takes seriously its obligation to maintain accurate records despite its assertion of this exemption, and to the extent it, in its sole discretion, agrees to permit amendment or correction of FBI records, it will share that information in appropriate cases.

    (3) From subsection (d)(1), (2), (3) and (4), (e)(4)(G) and (H), (e)(8), (f) and (g) because these provisions concern individual access to and amendment of law enforcement, intelligence and counterintelligence, and counterterrorism records and compliance could alert the subject of an authorized law enforcement or intelligence activity about that particular activity and the interest of the FBI and/or other law enforcement or intelligence agencies. Providing access could compromise information classified to protect national security; disclose information which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of another's personal privacy; reveal a sensitive investigative or intelligence technique; provide information that would allow a subject to avoid detection or apprehension; or constitute a potential danger to the health or safety of law enforcement personnel, confidential sources, or witnesses.

    (4) From subsection (e)(1) because it is not always possible to know in advance what information is relevant and necessary for law enforcement and intelligence purposes. The relevance and utility of certain information that may have a nexus to insider threats to national security or to the FBI may not always be fully evident until and unless it is vetted and matched with other sources of information that are necessarily and lawfully maintained by the FBI.

    (5) From subsections (e)(2) and (3) because application of these provisions could present a serious impediment to efforts to detect, deter and/or mitigate insider threats to national security or to the FBI and its personnel, facilities, resources, and activities. Application of these provisions would put the subject of an investigation on notice of the investigation and allow the subject an opportunity to engage in conduct intended to impede the investigative activity or avoid apprehension.

    (6) From subsection (e)(4)(I), to the extent that this subsection is interpreted to require more detail regarding the record sources in this system than has been published in the Federal Register. Should the subsection be so interpreted, exemption from this provision is necessary to protect the sources of law enforcement and intelligence information and to protect the privacy and safety of witnesses and informants and others who provide information to the FBI. Further, greater specificity of properly classified records could compromise national security.

    (7) From subsection (e)(5) because in the collection of information for authorized law enforcement and intelligence purposes, including efforts to detect, deter, and/or mitigate insider threats to national security or to the FBI and its personnel, facilities, resources, and activities, due to the nature of investigations and intelligence collection, the FBI often collects information that may not be immediately shown to be accurate, relevant, timely, and complete, although the FBI takes reasonable steps to collect only the information necessary to support its mission and investigations. Additionally, the information may aid in establishing patterns of activity and providing criminal or intelligence leads. It could impede investigative progress if it were necessary to assure relevance, accuracy, timeliness and completeness of all information obtained during the scope of an investigation. Further, some of the records in this system may come from other domestic or foreign government entities, or private entities, and it would not be administratively feasible for the FBI to vouch for the compliance of these agencies with this provision.

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    Dated: September 2, 2016.

    Erika Brown Lee,

    Chief Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer, Department of Justice.

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    [FR Doc. 2016-22412 Filed 9-16-16; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 4410-02-P

Document Information

Published:
09/19/2016
Department:
Justice Department
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Notice of proposed rulemaking.
Document Number:
2016-22412
Dates:
Comments must be received by October 19, 2016.
Pages:
64092-64094 (3 pages)
Docket Numbers:
CPCLO Order No. 008-2016
Topics:
Administrative practice and procedure, Courts, Privacy
PDF File:
2016-22412.Pdf
Supporting Documents:
» Streamlining Acquisition Regulations: Corrections
» Registration Requirements under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act
» Designation of Authority
» Privacy Act; Implementation
» Privacy Act; Implementation
» Organization of the Executive Office for Immigration Review
» Designation of Authority
» Privacy Act; Implementation
» Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation Adjustment
» DNA-Sample Collection from Immigration Detainees
CFR: (1)
28 CFR 16.96