Today, the ODNI publicly released the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Implementation Procedures for the ODNI Intelligence Activities Procedures Approved by the Attorney General Pursuant to Executive Order 12333 (NCTC Implementation Procedures) to provide appropriate transparency to the American people concerning NCTC’s counterterrorism mission and its protection of privacy and civil liberties. In January 2021, ODNI issued the first Attorney General-approved procedures specifically tailored to all of ODNI and governing all of ODNI’s intelligence activities. Those procedures required ODNI’s NCTC to develop supplementary procedures to address NCTC’s additional statutory collection authority. The NCTC Implementation Procedures fulfill that requirement and also provide more specific guidance to NCTC personnel regarding the application of certain aspects of the ODNI procedures to NCTC intelligence activities.
These NCTC Implementation Procedures apply to all NCTC personnel. In conjunction with the ODNI-wide procedures, the NCTC Implementation Procedures protect privacy and civil liberties by circumscribing NCTC’s collection, handling, retention, and dissemination of terrorism information and domestic counterterrorism intelligence information. For example, and in addition to the training and approval requirements found in the ODNI procedures, the NCTC Implementation Procedures require NCTC personnel receive appropriate training and approval before engaging in certain activities related to the domestic counterterrorism activities performed in support of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security. Both the ODNI procedures and supplemental NCTC Implementation Procedures became effective on March 23, 2021. The procedures supersede NCTC’s 2012 Attorney General-approved procedures.