Datagate — Obama Presents the NSA Reform, but He Is Not Changing the US Surveillance System

The American president announced that the “current form” of the interception program “is finished.”* He did not mention, however, the surveillance of email, which was one of the most serious breaches of privacy over the past few years

“The National Security Agency’s interception program as we know it is finished.”* Barack Obama announced this during a long-awaited speech which was publicized by the White House and delivered from the podium of the Department of Justice. Obama spoke for just under one hour, covering specific details concerning the reform as well as making reference to enduring historical events. His goal was to appease international controversy and Americans’ disapproval of the complex and intrusive surveillance policies of the NSA, the government intelligence agency involved in the Datagate scandal.

In the end, the president proposed some reforms — more judicial control over the operations carried out by intelligence agencies and restrictions on the amount of spying carried out on U.S. allies — but without really bringing into question the flaws in the system or the violations of privacy that were put into place after September 11.

The most significant reform presented by Obama discussed who should be responsible for keeping the database of information on the telephone calls made by millions of Americans and non-Americans. Obama said that the U.S. government will no longer maintain control over this data, but that this information could instead be controlled by telecommunication companies. Obama has also stated that it will be necessary to “do a more thorough job” and asked Attorney General Eric Holder to draw up a more detailed proposal by March 28.* Meanwhile, he added, U.S. investigative authorities will “only pursue phone calls that are two steps removed from a number associated with a terrorist organization, instead of the current three.”

This means that investigations will be more restricted and provide some measure of protection. Another change that was proposed by the U.S. president involves the possibility that the NSA and other intelligence agencies could investigate and intercept telephone conversations. The request would pass before a court, who would oversee the activities of the NSA. Obama, as some critics pointed out immediately after his speech, only made reference to “telephone conversations” and did not touch on the surveillance of emails, one of the most serious breaches of privacy over the past few years. As has been pointed out by Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who, along with Edward Snowden, gave rise to Datagate, Obama did not in any way address the details of the reasons that led to the breaches of privacy.

“Will private telecommunication companies be in charge of these databases?” — Greenwald posted on Twitter — “Is gathering this data really necessary?”* Another reform announced by Obama concerned the monitoring of foreign leaders. “[We will not monitor] heads of state and [governments] with whom we work closely,” he explained, although immediately after this statement he continued his speech with a more ambiguous statement. “Our intelligence agencies will continue to gather information about the intentions of governments – as opposed to ordinary citizens – around the world, in the same way that the intelligence services of every other nation does.” Obama’s speech about the NSA reforms came after weeks of meetings and talks at the White House with deputies, senators, members of the intelligence community, experts in surveillance systems and civil rights activists. For months, the NSA, along with the FBI and CIA, insisted that the president not make too many concessions.

In the end, Obama’s speech and his proposals appear to be a compromise between those who ask that restrictions be placed on spying that seems too invasive and those who consider the need for public security to be priority. Many observers, however, did not miss that many of the 46 recommendations made by the commission established by the president to reform the NSA were missing from his speech. For example, Obama did not mention anything about national security letters issued by the American government to telecommunication companies requesting them to open their archives. High tech companies would have liked to have seen the requests be approved by a court. The FBI objected to this, citing alleged delays in the investigations, and in the end the president gave in.

Also absent from Obama’s reform proposals was a matter which greatly concerns companies based in Silicon Valley, who over the last few months have reported a sharp drop in sales of their software in Europe due to the Europeans’ fear of the possibility that the U.S. government would carry out cyberattacks and violate their data encryption systems. Obama made no reference to the matter, disappointing senior executives of companies that, in the face of boycott threats—most notably from Germany and China — are trying to develop products that are “resistant to NSA.”

As for the rest of his speech, Obama concentrated on reaffirming that the United States does not violate international treaties on privacy protection, that no member of the American intelligence community intends to infringe on the life and privacy of ordinary citizens and that the surveillance system’s only purpose is to ensure public safety. Obama acknowledged that “the current debate is important,” but did not mention that the current debate was triggered by an American citizen, Edward Snowden, who is at this moment wanted by the federal authorities of his country for treason.

*Editor’s note: The original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.