NSA Reform Plans Seek To Offer Similar Data To Investigators Without Bulk Collection

There has been a lot of talk over the last few months about the bulk data of phone calls that was being collected by the NSA. In the wake of the revelation that this bulk data collection was taking place; reforms are coming to the NSA. Some of the options for reforming the NSA were leaked late last month.

Some other proposals to eliminate bulk data collection, but still offer the same sort of data on potential terrorists and their phone calls have now surfaced. One of the plans is offered by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and backed by Obama. It would require a new authority to be created that would duplicate the core capability of the NSA program without having to collect bulk data.

Phone carriers would be required to provide records for suspicious numbers and their direct contacts providing data two hops form the initial suspect. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) would approve the request before they are sent to phone companies under the plan backed by Obama. The other plan is offered by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD).

This plan would have courts offer pre-approval for general procedures and criteria for designating numbers as suspicious. Each of these requests would then be reviewed to confirm that there is evidence for suspension before data can be collected. This proposal also covers records linked to any suspected "agent of a foreign power."

SOURCE: The Daily Beast