President Barack Obama on Friday sought to get his administration ahead of the roiling debate over National Security Agency surveillance, releasing new information about spying activities and calling for changes aimed at bolstering public confidence that the programs do not intrude too far into Americans' privacy.
At a time when leaks by the former NSA contractor Edward J Snowden have ripped the veil from the agency's expansive spying both inside the United States and abroad, Obama held a news conference at which he conceded a need for greater openness and safeguards over vast US surveillance efforts.
"The president shares the views that have been expressed by civil libertarians and critics of the government," a senior administration official said in a conference call with reporters ahead of the news conference. "It's not enough for him as president to have confidence in these programs. The American people have to have confidence in them as well."
Among other steps, Obama announced the creation of a high-level taskforce of outside intelligence and civil liberties specialists to advise the government about how to balance security and privacy as computer technology makes it possible to gather ever more information about people's private lives.
The president also threw his administration's support behind a proposal to change the procedures of the secret court that approves electronic spying under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in order to make its deliberations more adversarial. The court, created in 1978, was initially envisioned to carry out a limited role of reviewing whether there was sufficient evidence to wiretap someone as a suspected foreign terrorist or spy.
In recent years, however, it has played a far more sweeping role, issuing lengthy and complex secret opinions interpreting surveillance laws and constitutional privacy rights, without the benefit of opposing lawyers to argue against the Justice Department or file any appeals. Obama was expected to announce his support for creating an adversarial player in such arguments.
The Obama administration is also planning to release a previously classified legal analysis explaining why the government believes it is lawful under a provision of the Patriot Act known as Section 215 for the NSA to collect and store logs of every phone call dialed or received in the United States.
At the same time, the NSA was expected to release a paper outlining its role and authorities, officials said. The six- to seven-page document was described as setting up a "foundation" to help people understand the legal framework for its activities. Next week, the agency will open a website designed to explain itself better to the public amid Snowden's disclosures.
"What people are beginning to see in the leaks are elements of a blueprint at NSA, but not an operating manual," another senior administration official said in the conference call. "What the paper will try to do is to essentially put them in context. This is a framework."
At a time when leaks by the former NSA contractor Edward J Snowden have ripped the veil from the agency's expansive spying both inside the United States and abroad, Obama held a news conference at which he conceded a need for greater openness and safeguards over vast US surveillance efforts.
"The president shares the views that have been expressed by civil libertarians and critics of the government," a senior administration official said in a conference call with reporters ahead of the news conference. "It's not enough for him as president to have confidence in these programs. The American people have to have confidence in them as well."
Among other steps, Obama announced the creation of a high-level taskforce of outside intelligence and civil liberties specialists to advise the government about how to balance security and privacy as computer technology makes it possible to gather ever more information about people's private lives.
The president also threw his administration's support behind a proposal to change the procedures of the secret court that approves electronic spying under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in order to make its deliberations more adversarial. The court, created in 1978, was initially envisioned to carry out a limited role of reviewing whether there was sufficient evidence to wiretap someone as a suspected foreign terrorist or spy.
In recent years, however, it has played a far more sweeping role, issuing lengthy and complex secret opinions interpreting surveillance laws and constitutional privacy rights, without the benefit of opposing lawyers to argue against the Justice Department or file any appeals. Obama was expected to announce his support for creating an adversarial player in such arguments.
The Obama administration is also planning to release a previously classified legal analysis explaining why the government believes it is lawful under a provision of the Patriot Act known as Section 215 for the NSA to collect and store logs of every phone call dialed or received in the United States.
At the same time, the NSA was expected to release a paper outlining its role and authorities, officials said. The six- to seven-page document was described as setting up a "foundation" to help people understand the legal framework for its activities. Next week, the agency will open a website designed to explain itself better to the public amid Snowden's disclosures.
"What people are beginning to see in the leaks are elements of a blueprint at NSA, but not an operating manual," another senior administration official said in the conference call. "What the paper will try to do is to essentially put them in context. This is a framework."
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