The nations’ top intelligence official is declassifying three secret U.S. court opinions showing how the National Security Agency scooped up as many as 56,000 emails annually over three years and other communications by Americans with no connection to terrorism, how it revealed the error to the court and changed how it gathered Internet communications.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper authorized the release Wednesday.
The opinions show that when the NSA reported to the court in 2011 that it was inadvertently collecting as many as 56,000 Internet communications by Americans with no collection to terrorism, the court ordered the NSA to find ways to limit what it collects and how long it keeps it.
(AP)
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2 Responses
What a self-serving statement. They admit that they collected an insignificant number of emails that they shouldn’t have, and that they then improved their procedures. How great they are.
Considering the billions upon billions of emails sent every year, 56,000 collected erroneously is a mighty good batting average.
The civil libertarians will cry foul over privacy, until the next terrorist attack. Then they’ll be the ones blaming the government for missing the information.