In its final days, the Obama administration has gifted the incoming Trump administration the power to intrusively invade the privacy of American citizens by lifting the limits on what NSA can do with collected data.
Newly approved procedures gives more surveillance powers to the intelligence community by allowing the National Security Agency (NSA) to share globally intercepted communications data with all other US intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections.
As NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, whose only wish is not to see the U.S. turn into a totalitarian state, points out in a tweet Thursday: “Obama just unchained NSA from basic limits on passing raw intercepts to others.”
Thanks Obama for saving us from the evil metadata that lurks on the internet and for locking them up for future determination by US intelligence agents.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
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Let’s just “hope” these agents and law enforcement authorities are intelligent enough to secure the servers and show some respect for people’s rights while passing around the family album among the community.
“Yes we can,” only hope.
As he hands the White House to Trump, Obama just unchained NSA from basic limits on passing raw intercepts to others https://t.co/JkbJhTrUsI
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) 12 January 2017
AntiMedia reports:
The recent approval of new procedures for an existing executive order will allow the NSA to share the private data it collects with all 16 agencies of the United States intelligence community. The 23-page outline of the new procedures lifts previous limits placed on the way information was filtered before being disseminated to individual agencies.
“As he hands the White House to Trump, Obama just unchained NSA from basic limits on passing raw intercepts to others,” NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden tweeted Thursday.
Gone are the already-flimsy privacy protections that required NSA analysts to review data before handing it over to other agencies like the CIA, DEA, DHS, or others. Whereas prior restrictions required analysts to shield the identities of innocent parties and other personal data before sharing only the information deemed pertinent, there are now no filters whatsoever.
All agencies will have the freedom to dig through “raw signals intelligence information” under the new procedures, which were signed by Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. After evaluating the information, the agencies can apply rules “minimizing” violations of privacy. That’s correct — only after privacy has been violated can it be protected. That’s not exactly how it works, but it is now the law according to Section 2.3 of Executive Order 12333.
The document was originally signed on December 15, 2016, by the director of national intelligence, James R. Clapper Jr. According to Clapper’s general counsel, Robert S. Litt:
“This is not expanding the substantive ability of law enforcement to get access to signals intelligence. It is simply widening the aperture for a larger number of analysts, who will be bound by the existing rules.”
ACLU lawyer Pat Toomey disagrees, explaining:
“Rather than dramatically expanding government access to so much personal data, we need much stronger rules to protect the privacy of Americans. Seventeen different government agencies shouldn’t be rooting through Americans’ emails with family members, friends and colleagues, all without ever obtaining a warrant.”
The new procedures require agencies to submit written requests to the NSA describing the raw signals intelligence sought, how it will be used, how it will further its mission in a significant way, and why the information could not be obtained through other sources. While the purpose of Executive Order 12333 is to target foreign and counter-intelligence only, if an agency uncovers information that incriminates an American citizen, the agency is required to turn the evidence over to the Justice Department. Many of the requirements listed in the document for targeting American citizens have been redacted.
And if all else fails, any U.S. Intelligence Agency can legally obtain personal information on any citizen with no warrant under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act. However, with these new procedures in place, that may not be necessary anymore.
If Barack Obama is so concerned about a Trump presidency, why is he giving the future president such a terrifying amount of power?
By Josie Wales
Edmondo Burr
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That is how the 1% control the world they steal from every one.Howard hughes could watch the world first in GOD view but the netwookie`SS and everyone else took away howard`s toys for themselfs.TRillions upon trillions in patent right royuitys at HHMI alone