What To Do About the NSA?

                What are we to do with the NSA? In the weeks since the government shutdown ended much of Washington’s attention has been focused on the numerous issues surrounding the launch of Healthcare.gov, but another important piece of news is out there that is just as concerning, and that has to do with the NSA. The past few weeks have brought us numerous reports from all over the world about alleged NSA spying activities. There are reports that the NSA spied on the German chancellor and on citizens in France and Spain, which prompted all three of these nations to summon our ambassadors. It has also been alleged that the NSA spied on 35 world leaders, and there are somewhat disputed reports that the NSA spied on the Vatican. All of these reports are based on documents provided by Edward Snowden, and some of the news stories that made these revelations were written by Glenn Greenwald, who recently stepped down from his post with The Guardian in order to launch his own venture. We have also learned through Snowden’s documents that the NSA and its British counterpart, GCHQ operated a joint program that secretly tapped into Google and Yahoo communications links and scooped up metadata on millions of accounts, including those of many Americans.

                In one of my previous blog posts regarding the NSA, I said that the surveillance disclosures had become so routine that I would not be surprised by anything new that came out, considering how thorough we now know the NSA to be. I still feel that way, but I must admit that I have been particularly taken aback by the reports of spying on our allies. I struggle to comprehend how reading the German chancellor’s emails will give us information that we can use to fight terrorism. I would not be surprised if the government is reaping economic benefits from the NSA’s spying on other world leaders. Right now though, I would like to go back to the Google and Yahoo disclosures. Supposedly, it is only metadata that is being collected, and if it identifies anyone as a “valid intelligence target”, then the NSA could supposedly pull up more detailed information on the person, including email and phone call content. Even if it is only metadata that is being collected, it can – as we have already discussed in class – reveal a whole lot about a person. In any case, these revelations should be particularly worrisome to all of us. I myself have a Google account, and even though I have nothing to hide, the fact that the NSA could be obtaining info on my communications over Gmail makes me very uncomfortable.

                One question we should be asking now is, what are we going to do about the NSA? How do we going to get a leash put on all of this mass surveillance? Earlier this week the Senate Intelligence Committee passed a bill introduced by Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein that would “prohibit the collection of bulk communication records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act except under specific procedures and restrictions set forth in the bill.” The key part of this is “except under specific procedures and restrictions.” What this provision really does is legalize the very bulk data collection that the bill seeks to control by making it an “exception.” This bill will not in fact place any meaningful control on the NSA’s mass surveillance. There is another bill out there that has more promise; this past Tuesday Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy and former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (a co-author of the PATRIOT Act) introduced the USA Freedom Act, which would ban the NSA from using the PATRIOT Act to collect bulk telephone records in the US and close a loophole in the FISA Act that has allowed the content of American communications to be targeted. The bill would also appoint a special advocate who would focus on privacy rights and civil liberties for matters before the FISA Court. It is expected that amendments will be introduced for the bill that would address overseas activity. If this bill were to become law, it would mark a significant overhaul of the NSA’s activity. No longer would they be able to spy on ordinary Americans. If they want to collect intelligence on specific individuals, they will need to demonstrate a specific valid national security interest with regards to those specific individuals. This bill would not cripple the NSA; rather it would ensure that the NSA performs its mission with greater respect for privacy and civil liberties. It’s time for these two aspects to receive greater emphasis.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/29/nsa-overhaul-bill-legislation-usa-freedom-act