Has government spying on Americans gone too far? A five-member federal privacy board is saying that is the case. A new report states spying by the NSA, FBI and other agencies is illegal and that such programs must end. It says that section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, which authorizes such spying "...implicates constitutional concerns under the First and Fourth Amendments, raises serious threats to privacy and civil liberties as a policy matter, and has shown only limited value." The report summarizes its conclusion with the determination that "...the board recommends that the government end the program." The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is managed by the Executive branch of government, and was created in 2007. This is their first year in operation. David Medine, a former official in the Federal Trade Commission under Bill Clinton, leads the group. This is the strongest opposition President Obama has faced from any such government groups over domestic spying. Coming as it does from the executive branch shows the President increasingly isolated within Washington. Many observers believe this new study will give ammunition to Congressional supporters of surveillance reform, like Senators Patrick Leahy and Rand Paul. Those two men alone present unique challenges to the President. The Vermont Senator is sponsoring the most popular anti-surveillance bill being considered by Congress. The son of libertarian firebrand Ron Paul is a leading contender to oppose the Democratic nominee for the Oval Office in 2016. After much controversy following revelations of widespread government abuse, the President addressed the American people on the subject. Before his remarks, the Chief Executive met with the partisan group who developed the report. Obama offered few concrete reforms to the programs or agencies in his remarks to the public. He spoke of the importance of such data in the fight against terrorism. At the end of last year, National Intelligence Director Keith Alexander admitted such spying has uncovered just a single operation since 2001. That was the transfer of $8,000 to a group in Africa. The group reported "We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the telephone records program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counter terrorism investigation." Conclusions of the study were endorsed by three of the five members of the group. The two dissenting votes are both Washington DC lawyers. Download your free Next News "Heroes & Villains" Poster here: http://bit.ly/KgbQD5 LIVE: http://bit.ly/1eChpVo Facebook: http://on.fb.me/18RdIek Twitter: http://bit.ly/1eChqZD Sub: http://NNN.is/the_new_media Meet the Next News Team: http://bit.ly/18RdIen Hashtag: #N3 About: Next News Network's WHDT World News program airs daily at 6pm and 11pm Eastern on Comcast, DirecTV and Over-the-Air and Online at http://NNN.is/on-WHDT WHDT World News is available to 6 million viewers from South Beach to Sebastian, Florida and to 2 million viewers in Boston, Massachusetts via WHDN. WHDT broadcasts on RF channel 44 (virtual channel 9) from Palm City and is carried on cable TV channels 44 (SD) and 1044 (HD) by AT&T, on cable channels 17 (SD) and 438 (HD) in West Palm Beach by Comcast, on satellite channel 44 (SD) in West Palm Beach by DIRECTV, and on WHDN-Boston which broadcasts on RF channel 38 (virtual channel 6) from the Government Center district in downtown Boston. More about WHDT: http://bit.ly/18RdIuB #SR
Gov't Board Slaps NSA
Has government spying on Americans gone too far? A five-member federal privacy board is saying that is the case. A new report states spying by the NSA, FBI and other agencies is illegal and that such programs must end. It says that section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, which authorizes such spying "...implicates constitutional concerns under the First and Fourth Amendments, raises serious threats to privacy and civil liberties as a policy matter, and has shown only limited value." The report summarizes its conclusion with the determination that "...the board recommends that the government end the program." The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is managed by the Executive branch of government, and was created in 2007. This is their first year in operation. David Medine, a former official in the Federal Trade Commission under Bill Clinton, leads the group. This is the strongest opposition President Obama has faced from any such government groups over domestic spying. Coming as it does from the executive branch shows the President increasingly isolated within Washington. Many observers believe this new study will give ammunition to Congressional supporters of surveillance reform, like Senators Patrick Leahy and Rand Paul. Those two men alone present unique challenges to the President. The Vermont Senator is sponsoring the most popular anti-surveillance bill being considered by Congress. The son of libertarian firebrand Ron Paul is a leading contender to oppose the Democratic nominee for the Oval Office in 2016. After much controversy following revelations of widespread government abuse, the President addressed the American people on the subject. Before his remarks, the Chief Executive met with the partisan group who developed the report. Obama offered few concrete reforms to the programs or agencies in his remarks to the public. He spoke of the importance of such data in the fight against terrorism. At the end of last year, National Intelligence Director Keith Alexander admitted such spying has uncovered just a single operation since 2001. That was the transfer of $8,000 to a group in Africa. The group reported "We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the telephone records program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counter terrorism investigation." Conclusions of the study were endorsed by three of the five members of the group. The two dissenting votes are both Washington DC lawyers. Download your free Next News "Heroes & Villains" Poster here: http://bit.ly/KgbQD5 LIVE: http://bit.ly/1eChpVo Facebook: http://on.fb.me/18RdIek Twitter: http://bit.ly/1eChqZD Sub: http://NNN.is/the_new_media Meet the Next News Team: http://bit.ly/18RdIen Hashtag: #N3 About: Next News Network's WHDT World News program airs daily at 6pm and 11pm Eastern on Comcast, DirecTV and Over-the-Air and Online at http://NNN.is/on-WHDT WHDT World News is available to 6 million viewers from South Beach to Sebastian, Florida and to 2 million viewers in Boston, Massachusetts via WHDN. WHDT broadcasts on RF channel 44 (virtual channel 9) from Palm City and is carried on cable TV channels 44 (SD) and 1044 (HD) by AT&T, on cable channels 17 (SD) and 438 (HD) in West Palm Beach by Comcast, on satellite channel 44 (SD) in West Palm Beach by DIRECTV, and on WHDN-Boston which broadcasts on RF channel 38 (virtual channel 6) from the Government Center district in downtown Boston. More about WHDT: http://bit.ly/18RdIuB #SR
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