Overview
FAR 50.201 establishes the foundational vocabulary for the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act of 2002 (SAFETY Act) within federal procurement. It defines the specific legal criteria for an "act of terrorism" and clarifies the distinctions between various Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approvals for anti-terrorism technologies and services.
Key Rules
- Act of Terrorism Criteria: To meet the definition, an act must be unlawful, cause harm (physical or financial) to U.S. persons or property, and utilize methods intended to cause mass destruction or injury to U.S. institutions.
- Broad Definition of Technology: A "Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology" (QATT) is not limited to hardware; it explicitly includes services, software, design, consulting, engineering, threat assessments, and vulnerability studies.
- Hierarchy of Approval:
- Designation: A DHS determination that a technology constitutes a QATT.
- Certification: A higher level of DHS approval confirming a QATT is an "approved product" that performs as intended and is safe for use.
- Block Status: DHS can issue "Block" designations or certifications for entire classes of technology, rather than requiring individual applications for every specific iteration.
- Streamlined Procurement: The "Pre-qualification designation notice" allows agencies to signal in a solicitation that a technology likely qualifies as a QATT, enabling offerors to access expedited DHS processing.
Practical Implications
- Liability Mitigation: Contractors providing security-related services or products must understand these definitions to access the liability protections (such as litigation management and damage caps) provided by the SAFETY Act.
- Solicitation Strategy: Government contractors should look for "Pre-qualification designation notices" in RFPs as an indicator that the government is incentivizing the use of specific anti-terrorism technologies and offering a faster path to regulatory protection.