--- kind: "section" citation: "22 U.S.C. § 6744" title: "22" title_heading: "Foreign Relations and Intercourse" number: "6744" heading: "Confidentiality of information" release: "119-102" date: "2026-07-12" url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/22/6744" units: - "Chapter 75 — Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation" - "Subchapter III — Reports" --- # §6744. Confidentiality of information - (a) **Freedom of Information Act exemption for certain Convention information—** Except as provided in subsection [(b)](#b) or [(c)](#c), any confidential business information, as defined in [section 6713(g) of this title](/usc/22/6713.md?p=g), reported to, or otherwise acquired by, the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14) Government under this chapter or under the [Convention](/usc/22/6701.md?p=2) shall not be disclosed under [section 552(a) of title 5](/usc/5/552.md?p=a). - (b) **Exceptions—** - (1) **Information for the Technical Secretariat—** Information shall be disclosed or otherwise provided to the [Technical Secretariat](/usc/22/6701.md?p=9) or other states parties to the [Chemical Weapons Convention](/usc/22/6701.md?p=2) in accordance with the [Convention](/usc/22/6701.md?p=2), in particular, the provisions of the Annex on the Protection of Confidential Information. - (2) **Information for Congress—** Information shall be made available to any committee or subcommittee of Congress with appropriate jurisdiction upon the written request of the chairman or ranking minority member of such committee or subcommittee, except that no such committee or subcommittee, and no member and no staff member of such committee or subcommittee, shall disclose such information or material except as otherwise required or authorized by law. - (3) **Information for enforcement actions—** Information shall be disclosed to other Federal agencies for enforcement of this chapter or any other law, and shall be disclosed or otherwise provided when relevant in any proceeding under this chapter or any other law, except that disclosure or provision in such a proceeding shall be made in such manner as to preserve confidentiality to the extent practicable without impairing the proceeding. - (c) **Information disclosed in national interest—** - (1) **Authority—** The [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14) Government shall disclose any information reported to, or otherwise required by the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14) Government under this chapter or the [Convention](/usc/22/6701.md?p=2), including categories of such information, that it determines is in the national interest to disclose and may specify the form in which such information is to be disclosed. - (2) **Notice of disclosure—** - (A) **Requirement—** If any Department or agency of the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14) Government proposes pursuant to [paragraph (1)](#c-1) to publish or disclose or otherwise provide information exempt from disclosure under [subsection (a)](#a), the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14) National Authority shall, unless contrary to national security or law enforcement needs, provide notice of intent to disclose the information— - (i) to the [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) that submitted such information; and - (ii) in the case of information about a [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) received from another source, to the [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) to whom that information pertains. The information may not be disclosed until the expiration of 30 days after notice under this paragraph has been provided. - (B) **Proceedings on objections—** In the event that the [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) to which the information pertains objects to the disclosure, the agency shall promptly review the grounds for each objection of the [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) and shall afford the objecting [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) a hearing for the purpose of presenting the objections to the disclosure. Not later than 10 days before the scheduled or rescheduled date for the disclosure, the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14) National Authority shall notify such [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) regarding whether such disclosure will occur notwithstanding the objections. - (d) **Criminal penalty for wrongful disclosure—** Any officer or employee of the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14), and any former officer or employee of the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14), who by reason of such employment or official position has obtained possession of, or has access to, information the disclosure or other provision of which is prohibited by [subsection (a)](#a), and who, knowing that disclosure or provision of such information is prohibited by such subsection, willfully discloses or otherwise provides the information in any manner to any [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) (including any [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) located outside the territory of the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14)) not authorized to receive it, shall be fined under [title 18](/usc/18.md) or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. - (e) **Criminal forfeiture—** The property of any [person](/usc/22/6701.md?p=6) who violates [subsection (d)](#d) shall be subject to forfeiture to the [United States](/usc/22/6701.md?p=14) in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in section 229C[^1] of title 18. - (f) **International inspectors—** The provisions of this section shall also apply to employees of the [Technical Secretariat](/usc/22/6701.md?p=9). ## Footnotes [^1]: So in original. Probably should be section “229B”. ## Source credit (Pub. L. 105–277, div. I, title IV, § 404, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–882.) ## Notes ### Editorial Notes ### References in Text This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a), (b)(3), and (c)(1), was in the original “this Act” and was translated as reading “this division”, meaning div. I of Pub. L. 105–277, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–856, known as the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. For complete classification of division I to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6701 of this title and Tables.