Secret NSA Surveillance Program Operates with ‘No Oversight’
Almost eight years after former CIA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the existence of a massive domestic spying program, the National Security Agency still operates a clandestine surveillance tool that threatens Americans' privacy, according to a dissenting member of a watchdog group that just completed a report on the "XKeyscore program."
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The extensive surveillance program first revealed by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden continues to operate with no judicial and limited congressional oversight, a member of a privacy watchdog agency said in a recent statement.
In a five-year investigation, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), an independent government watchdog, looked into the XKeyscore program, which allows the NSA to query global internet traffic for the activity of specific individuals, says the Washington Post.
One member of the board, Travis LeBlanc, said he voted against approving the report because he felt it “failed to adequately investigate or evaluate” XKeyscore, according to media reports.
“What most concerned me was that we have a very powerful surveillance program that, eight years or so after exposure, still has no judicial oversight, and what I consider to be inadequate legal analysis and serious compliance infractions,” wrote LeBlanc in his statement.
The program relies heavily on the “autonomous collection of massive data sets,” and analysis driven by artificial intelligence, said LeBlanc, who is a Democratic board member appointed by then-President Donald Trump.
The board sent copies of the report to Congress, the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in March. NSA officials denied LeBlanc’s assertions, saying the agency conducted appropriate legal reviews of the use of XKeyscore.
The other board members also disagreed with LeBlanc. According to thecyberwire.com former board chairman Adam Kelin said, “[The report is] highly factual, substantive and apolitical–the type of oversight the board was created to perform.”
The New York Times said “several issues complicated responsibility for the report.” The first is that the board evolved significantly during the effort. Some members departed and the board lacked a quorum, but its staff pursued the effort.
