OFAC EO 14076 Definition and Overview

Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

A 2022 U.
S.
Is EO 14076 an OFAC sanctions program?
Why is EO 14076 important for EU–U.S. relations?
What is the Data Protection Review Court?

Updated June 22, 2026

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In July 2023, the European Commission cited the safeguards established by EO 14076 when adopting its adequacy decision for the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

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Executive Order 14076, signed by President Joseph R. Biden on October 7, 2022, is titled "Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities." Despite occasional references pairing it with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), EO 14076 is not a sanctions instrument and is not administered by OFAC. It was issued primarily to implement U.S. commitments under the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF), addressing concerns raised by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Schrems II judgment (Case C-311/18, July 16, 2020), which had invalidated the EU–U.S. Privacy Shield.

The order directs the U.S. intelligence community to:

Conduct signals intelligence (SIGINT) only in pursuit of validated intelligence priorities and only when necessary and proportionate to those priorities.
Establish enumerated legitimate objectives for SIGINT collection and prohibited objectives (e.g., suppressing dissent, disadvantaging persons based on ethnicity, race, gender, or religion).
Create a two-layer redress mechanism for qualifying complaints from individuals in designated states, including initial review by the ODNI Civil Liberties Protection Officer and appellate review by a newly established Data Protection Review Court (DPRC) within the Department of Justice (created by AG regulation 28 CFR Part 201).

On the basis of EO 14076 and accompanying regulations, the European Commission adopted an adequacy decision for the EU–U.S. DPF on July 10, 2023, restoring a lawful basis for transatlantic personal data transfers to certified U.S. organizations.

Researchers should be careful: searches for "OFAC EO 14076" typically reflect a confusion with OFAC-administered sanctions executive orders (e.g., EO 14024 on Russia, EO 13224 on terrorism). EO 14076 falls under intelligence oversight and data-protection policy, implemented chiefly by ODNI, DOJ, and the intelligence agencies — not Treasury's OFAC.

Frequently asked questions

Is EO 14076 an OFAC sanctions program?

No. EO 14076 governs U.S. signals intelligence safeguards and is implemented by the intelligence community and DOJ, not by OFAC. It imposes no asset freezes or trade restrictions.

Why is EO 14076 important for EU–U.S. relations?

It provided the legal safeguards and redress mechanism that allowed the European Commission to issue its July 10, 2023 adequacy decision for the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework after Schrems II.

What is the Data Protection Review Court?

A second-tier review body within the U.S. Department of Justice, established under EO 14076 and 28 CFR Part 201, that adjudicates qualifying complaints from individuals in designated states about U.S. SIGINT activities.