U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans on Friday to limit sweeping U.S. government surveillance programs that have come under criticism since leaks by a former spy agency contractor, saying the United States "can and must be more transparent."
'It's not enough for me as president to have confidence in these programs. The American people need to have confidence in them, as well.'—U.S. President Barack Obama
"Given the history of abuse by governments, it's right to ask questions about surveillance, particularly as technology is reshaping every aspect of our lives," Obama told a news conference at the White House.
Saying that it was important to strike the right balance between security and civil liberties, Obama said he was unveiling specific steps to improve oversight of surveillance and restore public trust in the government's programs.
"It's not enough for me as president to have confidence in these programs. The American people need to have confidence in them, as well," Obama said, adding that he was confident the programs were not being abused.
The announcement — made just before Obama heads for summer vacation on Martha's Vineyard — may be greeted as at least a partial victory for supporters of ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden who is now in Russia, where he was granted asylum last week.
'I don't think Mr. Snowden was a patriot'
The Obama administration has vigorously pursued Snowden to bring him back to the United States to face espionage charges for leaking details of the surveillance programs to the media.
A June 2013 file photo provided by The Guardian shows U.S. whistleblower/secrets leaker Edward Snowden in Hong Kong. (Edward Snowden/The Guardian/Associated Press) "I don't think Mr. Snowden was a patriot," Obama said at the news conference, brushing off the suggestion that Friday's announcement showed Snowden had done the right thing in revealing the extent of the government's program.
Obama said he plans to work with Congress to pursue "appropriate reforms" of Section 215 of the anti-terrorism Patriot Act that governs the collection of so-called "metadata" such as phone records, insisting that the government had no interest in spying on ordinary Americans.
He did not specifically lay out how that program will be reined in. Instead, he pledged greater oversight, greater transparency, and constraints.
Obama will also pursue with Congress a reform of the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which considers requests from law enforcement authorities to target an individual for intelligence gathering.
Restoring public trust
Obama said he wants to let a civil liberties representative weigh in on the court's deliberations to ensure an adversarial voice is heard.
The secretive court, authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, has been criticized for essentially rubber stamping the U.S. government's requests to search through Americans' electronic records.
Currently, the FISA court makes its decisions on government surveillance requests without hearing from anyone but U.S. Justice Department lawyers in its behind-closed-doors proceedings.
Obama also said he wants to provide more details about the NSA programs to try to restore any public trust damaged by the Snowden disclosures.
The administration will also form a high-level group of outside experts to review the U.S. surveillance effort.
Mixed response
The NSA declined to comment on Obama's proposals. It is also not clear if Congress will take up the initiatives. A number of influential lawmakers have vigorously defended the spying programs as critical tools needed to detect terrorist threats.
U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement on Friday that her panel will hold a series of hearings to study the surveillance programs.
"This will be the primary order of business for the committee this fall and will be used to develop proposals to increase transparency and improve privacy protections for these vital national security programs," Feinstein said.
Brendan Buck, spokesman for House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, said Republicans expect the White House must ensure that reforms do not compromise programs that protect against terrorism. He also criticized Obama for not sufficiently explaining the government's data collection.
"Our priority should continue to be saving American lives, not saving face," Buck said.
Republican Representative Peter King issued a statement stridently defending the surveillance programs and calling Obama's reform plan "a monumental failure in presidential wartime leadership and responsibility."
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