' Obama administration takes first steps to limit NSA data collection but is it enough? | MTTLR

Obama administration takes first steps to limit NSA data collection but is it enough?

Last week, President Obama announced that the government would halt its bulk collection of telephone records under the controversial NSA program. Instead the data will remain with the phone companies and government investigators can request judicial approval to release the records. President Obama’s announcement comes almost a year after former NSA Contractor Edward Snowden leaked information to the press. Some privacy advocates such as the ACLU are heralding the decision as a crucial first step in replacing the NSA’s dragnet surveillance methods with a more targeted program. Although the President and a House committee support changes to the current system, the exact details remain to be finalized in Congress.

However, at least one commentator has noted that the proposal may not have much significance to the NSA. Phone companies already routinely collect logs of incoming and outgoings numbers and call length. The proposal also looks strikingly similar to existing procedures in the law for obtaining electronic data. For example, the federal pen register statute allows the government to obtain a court order for logs of outgoing phone numbers or email headers. The government must show only that the information is likely relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation. Similarly, the Stored Communications Act permits the government to obtain records or subscriber data based on specific facts that show there is reasonable grounds to believe that the records would be relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation.

Although these investigative techniques are used primarily in criminal matters, they can provide a guideline for national security issues. Even a “reasonable suspicion” standard that an individual may be connected to a national security risk or harm may go a long way in limiting dragnet government surveillance.

On the other hand, the proposal only places a procedural “speed bump” by requiring the government to get a court order before accessing the records. Given the importance of national security and the ease by which it justifies government action, the proposal may be more about appearance than in actual substance. Some members of Congress even gained political capital just by calling for reform in this arena. Overall, any step towards tighter scrutiny is positive and hopefully the public will benefit from more transparency.

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