Obama requests restrictions on NSA data collection methods

Photo by: Will Gentry

 

President Obama is proposing legislation that if approved by Congress could ban the National Security Agency from collecting Americans’ phone records.

The legislation would prevent the NSA from retaining call records from phone companies. Instead, companies would keep the data and the NSA would have to request it using a court order. President Obama announced in January he wanted to end intelligence-gathering practices that involved the government storing large collections of phone and electronic communication data.

In the Fox News article “Obama Calls for End to NSA’s Bulk Phone Call Collection,” Obama said, “I’m confident that [the proposal] allows us to do what is necessary in order to deal with the dangers of a terrorist threat but does so in a way that addresses some of the concerns that people have raised.”

Junior Mitch Aufiero said that he does not agree with Obama on this proposal.

“I view this situation as sacrificing privacy for safety and security,” Aufiero said. “The NSA is tasked [with] collecting, monitoring and decoding information. If we take away their ability to collect information, we hinder them from doing their jobs.”

Sophomore Devin Hayden noted several points Obama made when discussing phone data collection procedure and requirements; one being requiring court approval before data requests are made.

“Most of what President Obama said was political pandering; which is understandable, considering that is the nature of politics,” Hayden said. “I do agree with parts of what he said, including the court approval requirement. However, it is not his job to make law and govern policy. It is his job to ensure the law and policy legislated is executed correctly and expeditiously.”

Companies are concerned about the costs of holding the records and potential liability, such as individuals whose phone data was provided to intelligence or law enforcement agencies suing those agencies involved. Industry officials said they had not been in contact with the administration as new options were being considered, but the executives have continued to discuss the issue with lawmakers.

Syndicated columnist and political commentator Charles Krauthammer told viewers Tuesday on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that “[Americans] are taking a calculated risk” when it comes to reports that President Obama is expected to call for an end to the NSA’s bulk data collection program.

“Look, I’m sympathetic to the idea that we have to find a compromise,” Krauthammer said. “I think it’s probably one you have to have given the mood of the country, but if we get a second attack, we’re going to go violently in the other direction.”

Aufiero noted having to go and request data from an outside source could hinder their operations, which could cause strain in an emergency situation.

Hayden disagreed.

“There has been no indication that this bulk collection process has brought on any major attack on the U.S., nor has it led to any breakthroughs in providing increased national security,” Hayden said.

Hayden said that he doesn’t have a problem with the NSA having access to his phone records.

“However, if I was dealing drugs or cheating on my wife or plotting a terrorist strike on the United States, I might feel differently,” Hayden said. “That is why legislation on this issue is key. Perspective in law is crucial to its understanding, interpretation and implementation. To address the issues with phone data collection, Congress should find a compromise between security and self-interest.”

Hayden admitted this law does have a chance of passing, but he does not think the chances are very high that this particular law will pass without any revisions or alterations.

“There have been numerous proposals from both inside and outside of the legislative branch,” Hayden said. “There will likely be a law passed that has similar concepts and terms, only with a merging of other ideas and concepts as well.”

The proposal would require that phone companies only keep the records for the 18 months currently required by federal law, and allow the government to see certain records when a federal judge approves the request. Currently, the government holds onto those phone records for five years so the numbers can be searched for national security purposes.

Leaders of the House Intelligence Committee are set to introduce legislation that would call for a similar option to the Obama administration’s proposal. Under the administration’s waiting on legislative proposal, officials would have to obtain phone records by getting individual orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The new court orders would require companies to provide those records quickly and to make available continuing data related to the order when new calls are placed or received.