U.S. privacy board says NSA phone program illegal; should end

[nashville_brook]

7. here's the EFF statement -->

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/01/privacy-oversight-board-agrees-eff-mass-surveillance-illegal-and-must-end


Privacy Oversight Board Agrees with EFF: Mass Surveillance Is Illegal and Must End

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (or PCLOB), today issued a report strongly condemning the NSA’s mass telephone records surveillance program. PCLOB is an independent and bipartisan panel appointed by the president to advise the government on ensuring privacy and civil liberties. The report determined that the program, which the administration claims is authorized under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, is illegal under the terms of that same law and doesn’t actually keep us safe.

(snip)

The report follows a set of similar recommendations and conclusions issued by the president’s separate review group in December regarding the 215 program.

“Now two independent government panels, a bipartisan coalition in Congress, a federal judge sitting in open court, and the majority of the American public agree—the government’s bulk collection of Americans’ private phone records must end,” EFF Staff Attorney Nate Cardozo said.

President Obama signaled last week that he believed the collection must stop. The president should rely on PCLOB’s findings and recommendations to guide his decisions as he ends the program.