§ 1681u.
(a)
Identity of financial institutions
Notwithstanding section 1681b of this title or any other provision of this subchapter, a consumer reporting agency shall furnish to the Federal Bureau of Investigation the names and addresses of all financial institutions (as that term is defined in section 3401 of title 12) at which a consumer maintains or has maintained an account, to the extent that information is in the files of the agency, when presented with a written request for that information that includes a term that specifically identifies a consumer or account to be used as the basis for the production of that information, signed by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the Director’s designee in a position not lower than Deputy Assistant Director at Bureau headquarters or a Special Agent in Charge of a Bureau field office designated by the Director, which certifies compliance with this section. The Director or the Director’s designee may make such a certification only if the Director or the Director’s designee has determined in writing, that such information is sought for the conduct of an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such an investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
(b)
Identifying information
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1681b of this title or any other provision of this subchapter, a consumer reporting agency shall furnish identifying information respecting a consumer, limited to name, address, former addresses, places of employment, or former places of employment, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation when presented with a written request that includes a term that specifically identifies a consumer or account to be used as the basis for the production of that information, signed by the Director or the Director’s designee in a position not lower than Deputy Assistant Director at Bureau headquarters or a Special Agent in Charge of a Bureau field office designated by the Director, which certifies compliance with this subsection. The Director or the Director’s designee may make such a certification only if the Director or the Director’s designee has determined in writing that such information is sought for the conduct of an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such an investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
(c)
Court order for disclosure of consumer reports
Notwithstanding section 1681b of this title or any other provision of this subchapter, if requested in writing by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or a designee of the Director in a position not lower than Deputy Assistant Director at Bureau headquarters or a Special Agent in Charge in a Bureau field office designated by the Director, a court may issue an order ex parte, which shall include a term that specifically identifies a consumer or account to be used as the basis for the production of the information, directing a consumer reporting agency to furnish a consumer report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, upon a showing in camera that the consumer report is sought for the conduct of an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, provided that such an investigation of a United States person is not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The terms of an order issued under this subsection shall not disclose that the order is issued for purposes of a counterintelligence investigation.
(j)
Damages
Any agency or department of the United States obtaining or disclosing any consumer reports, records, or information contained therein in violation of this section is liable to the consumer to whom such consumer reports, records, or information relate in an amount equal to the sum of—
(1)
$100, without regard to the volume of consumer reports, records, or information involved;
(2)
any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the disclosure;
(3)
if the violation is found to have been willful or intentional, such punitive damages as a court may allow; and
(4)
in the case of any successful action to enforce liability under this subsection, the costs of the action, together with reasonable attorney fees, as determined by the court.
([Pub. L. 90–321, title VI, § 626], formerly § 624, as added [Pub. L. 104–93, title VI, § 601(a)], Jan. 6, 1996, [109 Stat. 974]; renumbered § 625 and amended [Pub. L. 107–56, title III, § 358(g)(1)(A)], title V, § 505(c), Oct. 26, 2001, [115 Stat. 327], 366; [Pub. L. 107–306, title VIII, § 811(b)(8)(B)], Nov. 27, 2002, [116 Stat. 2426]; renumbered § 626, [Pub. L. 108–159, title II, § 214(a)(1)], Dec. 4, 2003, [117 Stat. 1980]; [Pub. L. 109–177, title I, § 116(b)], Mar. 9, 2006, [120 Stat. 214]; [Pub. L. 109–178, § 4(c)(1)], Mar. 9, 2006, [120 Stat. 280]; [Pub. L. 114–23, title V], §§ 501(c), 502(c), 503(c), June 2, 2015, [129 Stat. 282], 285, 290.)