Internet Spying Programme A 'Valuable And Effective Tool': US Watchdog


BANGALORE: The Internet spying programme of the America’s National Security Agency (NSA) is a “valuable and effective tool” in protecting national security, according to a federal independent watchdog whose members are appointed by the US President.

The report on the controversial US surveillance programme by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board comes two days after a US media outlet, making public a classified document, said the US has been snooping upon as many as 193 countries, including India and six political parties across the globe including the BJP and the Pakistan’s People Party.

“Overall, the board has found that the information the programme collects has been valuable and effective in protecting the nation’s security and producing useful foreign intelligence,” said the report on 'Surveillance Program Operated Pursuant to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act' by the five-member board.

“The programme has operated under a statute that was publicly debated, and the text of the statute outlines the basic structure of the programme.

Operation of the Section 702 programme has been subject to judicial oversight and extensive internal supervision, and the Board has found no evidence of intentional abuse,” the report said.

According to the report, the treatment of non-US persons under surveillance programmes raises important but difficult legal and policy questions.

Noting that privacy is a human right that has been recognised most prominently in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), an international treaty ratified by the US Senate, the board said many of the generally applicable protections that already exist under US surveillance laws apply to US and non-US persons alike.

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Source: PTI