18 December 2013
Last updated at 19:10 ET
Among its 46 recommendations, the five-member panel said the
NSA should cease storing vast amounts of data on calls processed by US
phone companies.
Details of the snooping programme were leaked by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden, now a fugitive in Russia.
The review comes after a federal judge found the programme unconstitutional.
'Public trust' needed
NSA: White House task force recommends surveillance curbs
Former NSA director Hayden analyses the panel's report in an interview with the BBC's Katty Kay
A
White House panel has recommended significant curbs on the National
Security Agency's sweeping electronic surveillance programmes.
Details of the snooping programme were leaked by ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden, now a fugitive in Russia.
The review comes after a federal judge found the programme unconstitutional.
'Public trust' needed
In its 308-page report, the Review Group on Intelligence and
Communications Technology recommended the secret Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Court (FISC), a federal court that handles sensitive
national security cases, only authorise the collection of phone data
when it was related to a specific international terrorism investigation
and was "reasonable" in scope and breadth.
The data should no longer be stored wholesale by the NSA, the panel recommended, instead remaining in the custody of the phone company or a third party.
It also suggested limits on national security letters, which are legal orders giving the government authority to demand financial and phone records without prior court approval. It recommended intelligence agencies obtain a prior "judicial finding" showing "reasonable grounds" that the information sought is relevant.
President Barack Obama convened the panel in August after Mr
Snowden began releasing a trove of internal NSA documents to the news
media, bringing highly sensitive electronic intelligence programmes to
light for the first time and prompting an international outcry over
alleged violations of privacy.
"Our recommendations are designed to protect our national security and advance our foreign policy while also respecting our longstanding commitment to privacy and civil liberties, recognizing our need to maintain the public trust (including the trust of our friends and allies abroad), and reducing the risk of unauthorized disclosures," the panel wrote.
Among its recommendations:
Former NSA director Michael Hayden told the BBC the report's recommendations would complicate the task of intelligence collection.
"Making this more public will shave points off operational effectiveness," he said about the NSA programmes. "But... my personal formula in this is if we don't do that it won't matter because the American people won't let us do it in the first place."
'Respecting privacy'
The data should no longer be stored wholesale by the NSA, the panel recommended, instead remaining in the custody of the phone company or a third party.
It also suggested limits on national security letters, which are legal orders giving the government authority to demand financial and phone records without prior court approval. It recommended intelligence agencies obtain a prior "judicial finding" showing "reasonable grounds" that the information sought is relevant.
Edward Snowden's leaks have generated a debate about how far surveillance should go
"Our recommendations are designed to protect our national security and advance our foreign policy while also respecting our longstanding commitment to privacy and civil liberties, recognizing our need to maintain the public trust (including the trust of our friends and allies abroad), and reducing the risk of unauthorized disclosures," the panel wrote.
Among its recommendations:
- The NSA director should be confirmed by the US Senate, with civilians eligible for the role
- The president should give "serious consideration" to ensuring the next NSA director is a civilian and separate the position from US Cyber Command, a military unit
- Creation of a Public Interest Advocate to argue in favour of privacy and civil liberties interests before the FISC
- More transparency at FISC
- Halting spy agencies' efforts to undermine commercial encryption methods
- Limits on who can access information gained by the NSA
- The president should personally approve all methods used by the intelligence community, including spying on foreign leaders
Former NSA director Michael Hayden told the BBC the report's recommendations would complicate the task of intelligence collection.
"Making this more public will shave points off operational effectiveness," he said about the NSA programmes. "But... my personal formula in this is if we don't do that it won't matter because the American people won't let us do it in the first place."
'Respecting privacy'
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the review, which was
originally to be published in January, was being released now in
response to "inaccurate" media reports about its contents.
Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution with language aimed at protecting the right to privacy of internet users, affirming "the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online".
General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but they can carry significant moral and political weight.
Mr Obama met the review panel earlier on Wednesday.
In a statement, the White House said Mr Obama told its members that "the United States use its intelligence collection capabilities in a way that optimally protects our national security while supporting our foreign policy, respecting privacy and civil liberties, maintaining the public trust, and reducing the risk of unauthorized disclosure".
The panel was comprised of Richard Clarke, a former White House counter-terrorism adviser; Michael Morell, the former deputy director of the CIA; University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone; former White House technical adviser Cass Sunstein; and Peter Swire, an expert in privacy law.
On Monday, a federal court in Washington DC found the NSA's mass collection of Americans' phone call information was unconstitutional, in a case expected to reach the US Supreme Court.
Judge Richard Leon called the surveillance programme "indiscriminate" and an "almost Orwellian technology that enables the government to store and analyze the phone metadata of every telephone user in the United States".
And on Tuesday, executives from several large US tech firms met Mr Obama at the White House, reportedly pressing the president to curb the electronic surveillance programmes.
They demanded more transparency about the programmes, and told the president the programmes were hurting their reputations and the broader US economy by discouraging foreign companies from investing in US technology.
Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution with language aimed at protecting the right to privacy of internet users, affirming "the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online".
General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but they can carry significant moral and political weight.
Mr Obama met the review panel earlier on Wednesday.
In a statement, the White House said Mr Obama told its members that "the United States use its intelligence collection capabilities in a way that optimally protects our national security while supporting our foreign policy, respecting privacy and civil liberties, maintaining the public trust, and reducing the risk of unauthorized disclosure".
The panel was comprised of Richard Clarke, a former White House counter-terrorism adviser; Michael Morell, the former deputy director of the CIA; University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone; former White House technical adviser Cass Sunstein; and Peter Swire, an expert in privacy law.
On Monday, a federal court in Washington DC found the NSA's mass collection of Americans' phone call information was unconstitutional, in a case expected to reach the US Supreme Court.
Judge Richard Leon called the surveillance programme "indiscriminate" and an "almost Orwellian technology that enables the government to store and analyze the phone metadata of every telephone user in the United States".
And on Tuesday, executives from several large US tech firms met Mr Obama at the White House, reportedly pressing the president to curb the electronic surveillance programmes.
They demanded more transparency about the programmes, and told the president the programmes were hurting their reputations and the broader US economy by discouraging foreign companies from investing in US technology.
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