Obama Orders Cut Down On Spying

President Obama says he’ll require intelligence agencies to get permission from a secret court before tapping into telephone data and will restrict eavesdropping on foreign allies.

But Mr. Obama did not accept other recommendations that have been made to him on reining in surveillance, like requiring court approval for so-called national security letters, in which the government demands information on individuals from companies. That was a victory for the F.B.I. and other law-enforcement agencies, who argue that these letters are vital to investigations…

Seeking to balance the concerns of privacy advocates with those of the intelligence agencies, Mr. Obama insisted that the aggressive practices of the N. S.A. did not constitute an abuse of its authority, and that in many cases they were necessary to protect national security. But he said he was sympathetic to the arguments of those who say technology is enabling intelligence agencies to spy on people at home and abroad in a way that raises civil liberties concerns.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.