Obama calls for overhaul of NSA’s phone data collection program

— What's staying the same: The NSA will still have access to a vast database of information about virtually all telephone calls made to or from the United States. That database does not include the content of phone calls.

— What's changing: Instead of having the government hold the database of phone call "metadata," Obama is proposing to shift control to a private entity. The details of how — or if — that will be done will be worked out with Congress. In most cases, NSA analysts will have to get court approval to obtain information from the database.

Secret intelligence court

— What's staying the same: A panel of federal judges, meeting in secret, will continue to be the main judicial body that reviews requests for foreign intelligence surveillance.

— What's changing: A public advocate will be appointed who can counter the arguments of government lawyers before the judges, but only in cases involving broad policy issues.

Internet and email

— What's staying the same: The NSA will still have broad authority to intercept email and other Internet communications overseas, a key tool in counterterrorism, officials say. When intercepts involve Americans who communicate with foreigners or are traveling overseas, the NSA is allowed to keep that information if it is relevant to a terrorism investigation, but is required to "minimize" how that information gets shared with other government agencies.

— What's changing: A new policy directive orders intelligence agencies to protect the privacy rights of foreign persons but does not restrict the government's ability to use the information obtained overseas.

Chicago Tribune

Seeking to calm a furor over U.S. surveillance, President Barack Obama on Friday called for ending the government’s control of phone data from hundreds of millions of Americans and immediately ordered intelligence agencies to get a secretive court’s permission before accessing such records.

Still, he defended the nation’s spying apparatus as a whole, saying the intelligence community was not “cavalier about the civil liberties of our fellow citizens.”

The president also directed America’s intelligence agencies to stop spying on friendly international leaders and called for extending some privacy protections to foreign citizens whose communications are scooped up by the U.S.

Obama said the U.S. had a “special obligation” to re-examine its intelligence capabilities because of the potential for trampling on civil liberties.

“The reforms I’m proposing today should give the American people greater confidence that their rights are being protected, even as our intelligence and law enforcement agencies maintain the tools they need to keep us safe,” Obama said in his speech at the Justice Department.

“This debate will make us stronger,” he declared. “In this time of change, the United States of America will have to lead.”

Some lawmakers said the changes did not go far enough.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, a leading congressional civil liberties advocate, said he was disappointed in Obama’s proposals. He said it’s unconstitutional to search email and phone records without a warrant and he will continue to challenge the NSA’s spying programs.

“President Obama’s announced solution to the NSA spying controversy is the same unconstitutional program with a new configuration,” Paul said. “The American people should not expect the fox to guard the henhouse.”

Many Democrats said the president made important reforms, but vowed to press for more changes. “We will make sure that President Obama follows through on the promises he made today and will fight for further legal reforms to safeguard against indiscriminate, bulk surveillance of everyday Americans,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said.

Obama’s announcements capped the review that followed former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden’s leaks about secret surveillance programs.

If fully implemented, the president’s proposals would lead to significant changes to the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records, which is authorized under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.

Even with Obama’s decisions, key questions about the future of the surveillance apparatus remain. While Obama wants to strip the NSA of its ability to store the phone records, he offered no recommendation for where the data should be moved.

Instead, he gave the intelligence community and the attorney general 60 days to study options, including proposals from a presidential review board that recommended the telephone companies or an unspecified third party.

Civil libertarians said Obama did not go far enough. Anthony Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the president’s proposals would not substantially change the government’s bulk collection of phone data.

“He seems to endorse amending bulk data collection but not ending it,” Romero said in a telephone interview.

The ACLU will press on in its lawsuit against the administration’s phone surveillance, Romero said. A federal judge in New York upheld the phone sweeps last month, but the ACLU has appealed the ruling. Romero acknowledged that appeals judges might cite Obama’s changes and not rule on the case.

There appeared to be some initial confusion about Congress’ role in authorizing any changes. An administration official said Obama could codify the data transfer through an executive order, while some congressional aides said legislation would be required.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he would introduce legislation to create a special Senate committee to examine the issues and exercise congressional oversight.

Congress would have to approve a proposal from the president that would establish a panel of outside attorneys who would consult with the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on new legal issues that arise. The White House says the panel would advocate for privacy and civil liberties as the court weighed requests for accessing the phone records.

The moves are more sweeping than many U.S. officials had been anticipating. People close to the White House review process say Obama was still grappling with the key decisions on the phone record collections in the days leading up to Friday’s speech.

Obama only briefly mentioned Snowden, whose disclosures are largely credited with sparking the White House review.

“The sensational way in which these disclosures have come out has often shed more heat than light, while revealing methods to our adversaries that could impact our operations in ways that we may not fully understand for years to come,” Obama said.

While the president has said he welcomed the review of the nation’s sweeping surveillance programs, it’s all but certain the study would not have happened without the leaks. Snowden faces espionage charges in the U.S., but is currently living in Russia, where he was granted temporary asylum. Some privacy advocates have pressed Obama to grant Snowden amnesty or a plea deal if he returns to the U.S., but the White House has so far dismissed those ideas.

The surveillance revelations have caused particular anger abroad, especially over disclosures that the U.S. was monitoring the communications of friendly foreign leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. Obama said new guidelines will cut back on foreign leader monitoring, except when there is a compelling national security interest.

“The leaders of our close friends and allies deserve to know that if I want to learn what they think about an issue, I will pick up the phone and call them rather than turning to surveillance,” Obama said.

Obama said reviews have not uncovered any government abuse of the intelligence programs during its review process. “Having said that,” Obama added, “I believe critics are right to point out that without proper safeguards, this type of program could be used to yield more information about our private lives and open the door to more intrusive, bulk collection programs.”