Civil Libertarians Respond to Obama's NSA Reforms – Meh!

Earlier today, President Barack Obama gave a
speech in which he offered some “reforms” to the national
surveillance state as overseen by the functionaries at the National
Security Agency. The president did
correctly observe…

Given the unique power of the state, it is not enough for
leaders to say:  Trust us, we won’t abuse the data we
collect.  For history has too many examples when that trust
has been breached.  Our system of government is built on the
premise that our liberty cannot depend on the good intentions of
those in power; it depends on the law to constrain those in
power.

Well, yes. However, it does not appear that the president really
believes or understands his own point. In fact, many prominent
civil libertarian organizations do not think that the president’s
proposed reforms are anywhere close to being sufficient “to
constrain those in power.”

From the
American Civil Liberties Union…

…the president should end – not mend – the government’s
collection and retention of all law-abiding Americans’ data. When
the government collects and stores every American’s phone call
data, it is engaging in a textbook example of an ‘unreasonable
search’ that violates the Constitution. The president’s own review
panel recommended that bulk data collection be ended, and the
president should accept that recommendation in its entirety.”

From the
Electronic Frontier Foundation…

…Now it’s up to the courts, Congress, and the public to ensure
that real reform happens, including stopping all bulk
surveillance–not just telephone records collection. Other
necessary reforms include requiring prior judicial review of
national security letters and ensuring the security and encryption
of our digital tools, but the President’s speech made no mention of
these…We also look forward to addressing the underlying
constitutional problems with the surveillance in our ongoing
lawsuits: Jewel v. NSA and First Unitarian Church v. NSA.

From the
Center for Democracy and Technology…

…While we were pleased to see the President acknowledge that
bulk collection by the NSA is untenable, we were disappointed in
his failure to offer a clear path forward on these reforms. Storage
of bulk records by companies or a third party would be merely a
shuffling of the chairs, not a real reform. The only true solution
to this issue is restoration of a system of particularized
requests, as would be required by the USA FREEDOM Act.

From the
Internet Infrastructure Coalition…

…the President’s recommendations are still lacking when it
comes to striking the appropriate balance between privacy and
security. Without actions that include meaningful reforms to both
bulk surveillance, and the indiscriminate use of National Security
Letters, all together such a balance is unlikely to be achieved. As
the Review Group noted in their report and again in Tuesday’s
hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the bulk
collection programs employed by the National Security Agency are
neglecting civil liberties and undermining privacy. Unlike
retailers and other commercial entities who track spending habits
and other metrics using their customers’ data, one can’t simply
refuse to shop at NSA’s surveillance superstore.

Because a fearful public might once again be willing to
sacrifice liberty in the false pursuit of security should there be
another significant terrorist attack, it is critical that strong
civil liberties protections be adopted now.