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NSA Eavesdropping Needs More Oversight - Rep. Barr By Robert MacMillan, Newsbytes WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A., 29 Feb 2000, 12:27 PM CST Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., thanked the National Security Agency for its promise that it does not violate online or communications privacy rights, but said that recent advances in technology make privacy protection more difficult, despite the best intentions of the federal agency.

Barr also said that the NSA and Congress should review government oversight of the agency in order to build more public trust in the intelligence network.

In a letter to NSA Director Maj. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, Barr said that, "While I am pleased the NSA has begun to respond to widespread public concerns about its activities, your response points out several problems with the existing legal and oversight structure."

Barr's letter comes in response to an NSA letter to all members of the House of Representatives that seeks to assure them that the agency does not use unconstitutional tactics to gather intelligence.

"Recently, many allegations have surfaced about activities conducted by the NSA. We anticipate a continuation, if not an increase, in these allegations for the foreseeable future," NSA Legislative Affairs Office Chief of Staff Kenneth A. Heath told Congress members. "In fact, a (Feb. 27) airing of a CBS '60 Minutes' newsmagazine report may feature adverse information about the NSA."

The NSA said that, despite a spate of recent media reports about potentially unconstitutional spy activities, as well as foreign media and government complaints about the so-called Echelon satellite spy network, the agency does not violate the spirit or letter of the law - notably the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of illegal searches and seizures.

"We want to assure you that NSA's activities are conducted in accordance with the highest constitutional, legal, and ethical standards, and in compliance with statutes and regulations designed to protect the privacy rights of US persons," Heath also wrote. "Agency employees are trained to comply with these standards, and an extensive oversight system that includes internal and external reviews exists to ensure compliance."

The agency declined to acknowledge the existence of the Echelon network or any other "legal" spy/surveillance activities - citing national security as its reason.

"(I) agree the Fourth Amendment's protections supersede any technological changes that may impact surveillance activities," Barr wrote. "However, your assurances that privacy cannot be violated by NSA simply because 'the Fourth Amendment transcends whatever technology happens to be involved in a particular form of electronic surveillance,' grossly oversimplifies the difficulty of protecting privacy in light of recent technological advances."

Barr said that the presence of e-mail, faxes and telephone calls could push the Fourth Amendment's definition of "persons, houses, papers and effects."

"As American citizens begin to use an array of new technologies to communicate, it is incumbent on our federal government to make sure communications...receive the same protections the Founders clearly sought for written mail," Barr said. "Further, as more domestic communications cross international borders, the intelligence community has a responsibility to ensure they are accorded the same protection as other communications that begin and end in the United States, without crossing an international border in the process."

Barr also said that "as past NSA abuses have shown, privacy rights are better protected by relying on evolving, explicit legal structure than by counting solely on the good faith of government employees wielding massive power and reciting generalities."

Barr's letter also was addressed to House Government Reform Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman (and notable privacy advocate) Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

While the NSA does not confirm the existence of the Echelon spy network, which a recent report to the European Parliament said can intercept phone calls, e-mail and other communications, the French government, European Union and other world governments have raised international angst over the possibility that everyday people are being spied upon for US intelligence gathering.

The NSA said, however, that there is plenty of government oversight on the agency, from the House and Senate Permanent Select Committees on Intelligence to the Justice and Defense Departments and the National Security Council.

Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .

12:27 CST Reposted 12:49 CST

Well, what a relief! I take their word for it...Not!

-- canthappen (n@ysayer.com), February 29, 2000

Answers

Never fear. The black helocopters are just being used to film a Mel Gibson movie.

-- JB (noway@jose.com), February 29, 2000.

>>>While the NSA does not confirm the existence of the Echelon spy network...

This really bolsters one's faith in what Gen. Hayden has to say, does it not? I mean, there have been books written on this subject. There have been movies produced. If you go to google.com and type in the word "wullenwebber" you will find several websites with photos of these monitoring sites. Yet the NSA does not confirm their existence for "National Security Reasons" - oooooookaaaaaay!

Cmdr Don

-- Cmdr Don (donfmwyo@earthlink.net), February 29, 2000.

The quick red fox jumped over the lazy brown dogs back. Yes he did, Yes he di di da dah di dit.

-- Michael Erskine (Osiris@urbanna.net), February 29, 2000.

Beadwindow!!

Cmdr Don

-- Cmdr Don (cmdrdon@mad.scientist.com), March 01, 2000.