Post by walmartramen on Jun 29, 2013 0:09:45 GMT -5
A watchdog group meant to guard Americans' right to privacy against overreach by government cyberintelligence has been around for years.
If that makes you feel safer, consider this:
It had no leader until May, and lawmakers delayed for years to fully staff it.
President Barack Obama met with the group for the first time Friday over the phone and e-mail record-gathering scandal involving the National Security Agency.
The president wants to enlist the group to "structure a national conversation" on government cyberintelligence and civil rights.
Who are the watchdogs?
The group is called the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), and though it was created in 2004, it does not appear to have been very active.
It initially answered directly to then-President George W. Bush in an advisory role, but later became an independent agency in 2007 following advice from the 9/11 Commission, according to the White House.
Five years later, the PCLOB really only existed on paper, a group of conservative libertarians complained.
In a May 2012 letter to Senators from the group -- led by former Republican Representative Bob Barr of Georgia -- blasted Washington for dallying on staffing the board, while lawmakers were already considering cybersecurity legislation.
What's next for Snowden?
"We are deeply troubled by the fact that it has been almost five years since Congress enacted legislation to create an independent PCLOB with meaningful oversight authority, and yet the Board has not yet come into existence," the letter read.
Washington lawmakers had bounced nominations to the PCLOB that Obama made in December 2010 back at him, only to have him nominate them again, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Rand Paul: Clapper was lying
Their mission? "Minimizing any impact on privacy and civil liberties" while the government expands its fight against cyberthreats, the White House posted on its blog a year after floating the nominees.
It encouraged their swift confirmation.
Officials cite thwarted plots
The conservative advocates adamantly backed the liberal president.
"We implore you to act without further delay to move these nominations forward," they wrote to senators.
Last month, Obama appointed financial and economic attorney David Medine to chair the board.
Obama wants to expand its duties to include "big data" -- how private companies like Google or Facebook treat information they collect from their customers, he said in an interview with journalist Charlie Rose this week.
Nine years after its inception, PCLOB may begin with its task, now that the NSA's intelligence activities have been exposed.
"We discussed with the president our recommendation that every effort be made to publicly provide the legal rationale for the programs in order to enhance the public discussion and debate about the legality and propriety of the country's counterterrorism efforts," the group said in a statement after Friday's meeting, noting it would produce a public review of the recently revealed surveillance programs.
( www.cnn.com/2013/06/21/politics/cyberrights-watchdog/index.html )
( my.opera.com/walmart-ramen/archive/ )
***There is action being taken for the security of the public.
This is very much needed, with such issues out about privacy.
To build trust in the USA overseas, I have to say change is going on!
If you are out there saying or planing to do something to hurt many
others, knowing we all are connected, then you need your ass kicked!
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxwG8RxQ5Zc )
If that makes you feel safer, consider this:
It had no leader until May, and lawmakers delayed for years to fully staff it.
President Barack Obama met with the group for the first time Friday over the phone and e-mail record-gathering scandal involving the National Security Agency.
The president wants to enlist the group to "structure a national conversation" on government cyberintelligence and civil rights.
Who are the watchdogs?
The group is called the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), and though it was created in 2004, it does not appear to have been very active.
It initially answered directly to then-President George W. Bush in an advisory role, but later became an independent agency in 2007 following advice from the 9/11 Commission, according to the White House.
Five years later, the PCLOB really only existed on paper, a group of conservative libertarians complained.
In a May 2012 letter to Senators from the group -- led by former Republican Representative Bob Barr of Georgia -- blasted Washington for dallying on staffing the board, while lawmakers were already considering cybersecurity legislation.
What's next for Snowden?
"We are deeply troubled by the fact that it has been almost five years since Congress enacted legislation to create an independent PCLOB with meaningful oversight authority, and yet the Board has not yet come into existence," the letter read.
Washington lawmakers had bounced nominations to the PCLOB that Obama made in December 2010 back at him, only to have him nominate them again, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Rand Paul: Clapper was lying
Their mission? "Minimizing any impact on privacy and civil liberties" while the government expands its fight against cyberthreats, the White House posted on its blog a year after floating the nominees.
It encouraged their swift confirmation.
Officials cite thwarted plots
The conservative advocates adamantly backed the liberal president.
"We implore you to act without further delay to move these nominations forward," they wrote to senators.
Last month, Obama appointed financial and economic attorney David Medine to chair the board.
Obama wants to expand its duties to include "big data" -- how private companies like Google or Facebook treat information they collect from their customers, he said in an interview with journalist Charlie Rose this week.
Nine years after its inception, PCLOB may begin with its task, now that the NSA's intelligence activities have been exposed.
"We discussed with the president our recommendation that every effort be made to publicly provide the legal rationale for the programs in order to enhance the public discussion and debate about the legality and propriety of the country's counterterrorism efforts," the group said in a statement after Friday's meeting, noting it would produce a public review of the recently revealed surveillance programs.
( www.cnn.com/2013/06/21/politics/cyberrights-watchdog/index.html )
( my.opera.com/walmart-ramen/archive/ )
***There is action being taken for the security of the public.
This is very much needed, with such issues out about privacy.
To build trust in the USA overseas, I have to say change is going on!
If you are out there saying or planing to do something to hurt many
others, knowing we all are connected, then you need your ass kicked!
( www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxwG8RxQ5Zc )