Obama to Preempt Privacy Board on Altering NSA Spying

[Purveyor]

By Chris Strohm and Margaret Talev - Jan 8, 2014

President Barack Obama plans to announce changes to U.S. spy programs before an independent privacy panel he nominated issues its recommendations.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board members met with Obama today to discuss how to alter the National Security Agency’s collection and use of bulk phone records, such as numbers dialed and call durations. They also talked about operations of the secret court overseeing surveillance.

After the meeting, the five-member board said in a statement it plans to issue a report by late January or early February on the legality of bulk records collection and offer recommendations on “the right balance between national security and privacy and civil liberties.”

Obama plans to announce his proposals for altering NSA surveillance programs before his annual State of the Union address on Jan. 28, and maybe as early as next week, according to an administration official familiar with the deliberations who requested anonymity in discussing the matter.

“He is still in the process of deliberating,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters today.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-08/obama-to-preempt-privacy-board-on-altering-nsa-spying.html

[Autumn]

1. So one can say the independent privacy panel he nominated

was just a show? Figures.