CIPP US Privacy Study Part 4

Part 4 of John's CIPP/US Privacy Materials

Laws on Government and Court Access to Private-sector Information, BoK III

by John Bandler

This is Part 4 of my U.S. Privacy and CIPP/US and privacy learning materials.

Here we cover cover issues relating to privacy from government and law enforcement.

+ Please excuse some construction disruption as I revamp my webpages and update my CIPP/US privacy study courses. +

To navigate John's CIPP/US pages

• Main (parent) jump off page with links to each part https://johnbandler.com/cippus
• • Previous: Part 3 https://johnbandler.com/cippus/part3/
  • This: Part 4
  • Next: Part 5 https://johnbandler.com/cippus/part5/

Topics covered

We should think about how government gets information or data that it needs, and the CIPP/US focus is how it gets data stored by third parties.

But to get there, we need to understand some basics on law and the Fourth Amendment, which we will recap (having covered it a little in earlier domains). We will cover the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and more.

This domain is not highly tested but is important to know, especially if you live in the U.S. This domain essentially covers:

• Law Enforcement and Privacy
  • Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)
  • Wiretap Act
  • Stored Communications Act (SCA)
  • Pen Register Trap and Trace Devices
  • The Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)
  • Privacy Protection Act of 1980
• National Security and Privacy
  • Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA)
  • USA-PATRIOT Act: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001
  • The USA Freedom Act of 2015
  • The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA)
• Civil Litigation and Privacy
  • Discovery / Disclosure
  • E-discovery

We see many issues relating to this in the news almost daily.

By now we have a solid foundation in law and U.S. government which helps us as we navigate the issues relating to the U.S. Constitution and Fourth Amendment, separation of powers and checks and balances, and balancing various needs.

Law enforcement needs the ability to investigate and arrest, but it is limited by the Fourth Amendment. Our national security apparatus needs the ability to spy and counterspy, but that also needs limits. Then, a lawsuit between parties means each side needs information to prepare for trial (known as discovery or disclosure) but that can have privacy implications.

In 2026 the federal government started misstating the law about what it took to arrest an individual, and when a home can be searched. I created a video on the Fourth Amendment to try share some legal knowledge with others.

My courses

I have created two online courses to help people learn about privacy and prepare for this certification exam.

• My Udemy CIPP/US course was originally geared for lawyers and law students, but many non-lawyers have taken it too. It is on the Udemy learning platform, and you can purchase it for under $20, including with my coupon code.
  • Go direct to my Udemy CIPP/US landing page (don't buy until you check my coupon code)
  • Check here for a coupon code first (if expired ask me to generate another)
• Another course is geared for information security professionals on the Infosec Skills learning platform, a subscription based platform (Infosec Skills was bought by Cengage).

Overall references for CIPP/US

• See my Part 1 course for the overall references and additional reading (including IAPP resources)
• My courses provide priority coverage of important areas. If you want to dig deeper, I provide those resources on where to start.

Part 4 specific references

• See my Part 1 course for the overall references and additional reading (including IAPP resources)
• My courses provide priority coverage of important areas. If you want to dig deeper, I provide those resources on where to start.
• The Fourth Amendment and Search and Seizure, https://johnbandler.com/fourth-amendment/
  • See my 4th Amendment companion video at the bottom of the webpage or at https://youtu.be/xNdZRn2Ah-A
• CIPP/US Certification Privacy Law Compilation, https://johnbandler.com/cipp-us-certification-privacy-law-compilation/
• These references are a work-in-progress as I update my materials

This page is hosted at https://johnbandler.com/cippus/part4. Copyright John Bandler, all rights reserved. No claim to IAPP materials or legal references.

Page posted 3/22/2026, drawing upon my previous materials. This page updated 04/12/2026.