Barack Obama raises possibility of new legislation to curb NSA powers

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Barack Obama raises possibility of new legislation to curb NSA powers

Ewen MacAskill in New York
theguardian.com, Wednesday 4 September 2013 18.34 BST

Barack Obama has raised for the first time the prospect of new legislation to limit the powers of the NSA, the US spy agency caught up in controversy over the sweep of its surveillance operations.

Answering a question at a joint press conference with Swedish prime minister Frederik Reinfeldt on Wednesday, Obama said there were "legitimate questions" about the NSA. He said existing laws may not be sufficient to deal with advances in technology that have allowed the NSA to gather much more data than before.

There have been calls for new legislation from members of Congress to limit the powers of the NSA, but this is the first time that Obama has hinted he might back such a move. Until now, Obama has only proposed limited changes and is awaiting recommendations from a review body he set up.

The president's language was more sympathetic towards the privacy camp than it has been over the past few months. Just because the US intelligence agencies could do something did not meant it should, Obama said, particularly if the US is being too intrusive in looking into the behaviour of other governments.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/barack-obama-nsa-powers-laws

[AnotherMcIntosh]

1. How about adopting legislation with this language:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

[KamaAina]

2. What are you, a communist?

Srsly, some students went out to a shopping center in Maine with a petition. Most people refused to sign it. Some called them communists.

The petition was the Bill of Rights. And this was before our schools were dumbed down.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

4. Years ago, someone was trying to reason with one of the nonthinkers by saying

"But I'm an anti-communist."

The Archie-Bunker type response was

"I don't care what kind of communist you are."

[Demo_Chris]

3. Whoa! Slow down there you radical! nt

[woo me with science]

5. Wouldn't it be nice

if we had any reason whatsoever to suspect those words were even in play anymore...

[hootinholler]

6. The court's position is

Once you give it to a third party you surrender that right.