14 DAY TRIAL // The American Civil Liberties Union has been one of the main actors in the fight against NSA’s surveillance programs. Now, the organization is praising the report coming from the government’s Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which calls for the end of the metadata collection program.
Earlier today, it was revealed that the independent group found that the NSA’s program was illegal, ineffective and should be stopped. The finding echoes other opinions, including one coming from a member of the White House panel put in charge of reviewing the NSA’s program, who said that there was no proof that the agency used the metadata program to stop any type of terrorist activity.
“We welcome the board’s report, and we agree with its principal conclusions. The NSA’s call-records dragnet is illegal and ineffective and presents a serious threat to civil liberties. The board’s report makes even clearer that the government’s surveillance policies, as well as our system of oversight, and in need of far-reaching reforms. The report should spur immediate action by both the administration and Congress,” ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer said.
The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board was dubbed independent in 2007 by Congress and all its five members have been appointed by Barack Obama.