Post date: Dec 18, 2013 11:29:35 PM
A White House review panel proposes curbs on some key National Security Agency surveillance operations, recommending limits on a program to collect records of billions of telephone calls and new tests before authorizing eavesdropping on foreign leaders.
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 18, 2013) (NBC) - An outside panel appointed by the White House to review the eavesdropping National Security Agency's operations recommended on Wednesday (December 18) new criteria that should be met before the United States engages in surveillance of foreign leaders.
Before spying on such leaders, U.S. officials should determine if there are other ways to obtain the necessary information and weigh the negative effects if the surveillance becomes public, panel members wrote in one of 46 recommendations.The panel, whose members met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday at the White House, also called for limits on a U.S. government program that collects "metadata" - or basic call information - on billions of telephone calls.
It said the U.S. government should explore agreements on spying practices "with a small number of closely allied governments."
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Obama administration would review the recommendations of the panel and that U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to address those recommendations publicly in a speech sometime in January.
"Over the next several weeks, we will be reviewing the review group's report and its 46 recommendations as we consider the path forward, including sorting through which recommendations we will implement, which might require further study, and which we will choose not to pursue. It's a substantive, lengthy report. And it merits serious review and assessment," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.