President Obama Speech on NSA Data Gathering
WASHINGTON – United States President Obama delivered a speech promising to make changes in how the NSA gathers data and in information on Americans and overseas. The United States has come under fire recently from the German Government over listening into phone calls and reading emails of German Chancellor ..
The goal of the NSA data gathering is to protect Americans from terrorism. However growing numbers of people are now feeling, after Edward Snowden released details of just how far the American Government was collecting information, that the program needs greater oversight to protect the freedoms of Americans.
The President’s Press Secretary released a statement on Friday:
“The collection of signals intelligence is necessary for the United States to advance its national security and foreign policy interests and to protect its citizens and the citizens of its allies and partners from harm. At the same time, signals intelligence activities and the possibility that such activities may be improperly disclosed to the public pose multiple risks. These include risks to: our relationships with other nations, including the cooperation we receive from other nations on law enforcement, counterterrorism, and other issues; our commercial, economic, and financial interests, including a potential loss of international trust in U.S. firms and the decreased willingness of other nations to participate in international data sharing, privacy, and regulatory regimes; the credibility of our commitment to an open, interoperable, and secure global Internet; and the protection of intelligence sources and methods”.
“In addition, our signals intelligence activities must take into account that all persons should be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their nationality or wherever they might reside, and that all persons have legitimate privacy interests in the handling of their personal information”.
