Saturday, August 10, 2013

Reformers attempt to curb NSA surveillance powers

In aftershock of leaks, reformers take a stab at NSA powers — MSNBC - Adam Serwer:

July 23, 2013 - "For the first time since the Patriot Act was passed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, legislators and civil liberties advocates are convinced that public opinion and political momentum is on their side in the debate over privacy and security.

"'I think reform is coming,' says Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California. 'It’ll take time to determine exactly what form it will take, but I think there is an inexorable move towards greater transparency of the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] Court and greater restructuring of the surveillance programs.'

"The key priorities for reformers are narrowing the authority granted in section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows the government to seize business records deemed 'relevant to a terrorism investigation — the same justification used in a leaked FISA court order authorizing the NSA [National Security Agency] to obtain millions of Americans’ phone records — and making the secret FISA court more transparent....

"Here is a rundown of some of the proposals, not all of which have been introduced as legislation:"

Read more: http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/23/in-aftershock-of-leaks-reformers-take-a-stab-at-nsa-powers/
'via Blog this'

See also: Obama and FISA, by George J. Dance

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