Obama staunchly defends government surveillance programs [View all]

[Cali_Democrat]

By Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland

SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday staunchly defended U.S. government programs conducting surveillance of Americans' phone and Internet activity, insisting that they were conducted with broad safeguards to protect against abuse.

"Nobody is listening to your telephone calls. That's not what this program is about," Obama told reporters on a visit to California's Silicon Valley.

He insisted that the surveillance programs struck the right balance between keeping Americans safe from terrorist attack and protecting their privacy.

Obama stressed that the programs are overseen by federal judges and by Congress, where senators and representatives are regularly updated on their use, and he said his administration has also instituted audits to make sure safeguards are observed.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obama-staunchly-defends-us-government-164030610.html