U.S. weighs disclosure of number of surveilled Americans -spy chief
Source: Reuters
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said on Monday his office is considering options to obtain and publicly disclose an estimate of the number of U.S. persons caught incidentally in Internet surveillance intended for foreign targets.
"We are looking at several options right now, none of which are optimal," Clapper told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor news organization. He cautioned the task would be difficult and potentially run afoul of privacy considerations.
The comments came in response to a bipartisan letter sent last week by 14 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives pressing Clapper to provide a public estimate of the number of Americans ensnared in data grabs of foreign Internet communications traffic. They said the estimate is needed to gauge possible reforms to a controversial surveillance law due to expire at the end of 2017.
That law enables an Internet surveillance program known as Prism that was first disclosed in a series of leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden nearly three years ago.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-cyber-surveillance-idUSL2N17S0Z6
forest444
(5,902 posts)Dustlawyer
(10,493 posts)They made up Bull Shit reasons to add names, many common names to help the list grow fast. Then they use it as "probable cause" to snoop into our lives even though we are put on it without any ability to fight it. No notice either until you go to fly for the first time they have added your name!
I had guns pulled on me in an airport in Houston in December of 2001, when there was a terrorist behind every seat, potted plant and food court in every airport! There are literally tens of thousands of men with the same name as me affected by this, and even one elderly grandmother who had the name spelled differently according to a New Yorker article written at the time. 15 years later and I am still on the list, but no one freaks out anymore because it happens so often now. It's usually quicker for me to drive for trips of 600 miles or less.
By the way, Southwest Airlines code phrase when one of us checked in for our flight used to be, "That's funny, I've never seen it do that before" (pointing at the computer screen and talking to a supervisor behind the counter.
People would be shocked to find out how many names are on that list just as they would be to see how many have been electronically surveiled by the CIA. Some of the words used in this post will trigger a flag for this to be read by someone with both agencies. BE CAREFUL RESPONDING TO MY COMMENT, THEY MIGHT LOOK AT YOU TOO!