As one disclosure follows the next, the debate over the limits of government surveillance leads to more pressure on Congress. June 27, 2013 11:14 AM PDT U.S. Army Gen. Keith Alexander, Director National Security Agency (NSA), and head of the US Cyber Command walks to a closed door U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee meeting, June 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Credit: Getty Images) More than half a million people have signed an online petition demanding Congress more fully probe the recent revelations about the National Security Agency. The petition, titled "Stop Watching Us," started a couple of weeks ago. It urges Congress to stop the government from what it describes as blanket data collection. "This dragnet surveillance violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which protect citizens' right to speak and associate anonymously, guard against unreasonable searches and seizures, and protect their right to privacy." It's the latest public fallout following press reports based on information supplied by a former NSA contractor who leaked details on the existence of top-secret surveillance program. The disclosures, first reported in The Guardian and the Washington Post, tell a tale of widespread information gathering of Internet and phone information. But given the NSA's shadowy nature, the public has yet to sort out fact from fiction in what is, admittedly, an explosive but complicated story. Related stories Secret court lifts veil, slightly, on Google, Microsoft lawsuits Following Google, Microsoft also challenges DOJ gag order Data, meet spies: The unfinished state of Web crypto Student group files complaint against U.S. firms over NSA data snooping A modest proposal for privacy control
As one disclosure follows the next, the debate over the limits of government surveillance leads to more pressure on Congress.
U.S. Army Gen. Keith Alexander, Director National Security Agency (NSA), and head of the US Cyber Command walks to a closed door U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee meeting, June 13, 2013 in Washington, DC.
(Credit: Getty Images)
More than half a million people have signed an online petition demanding Congress more fully probe the recent revelations about the National Security Agency.
The petition, titled "Stop Watching Us," started a couple of weeks ago. It urges Congress to stop the government from what it describes as blanket data collection. "This dragnet surveillance violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which protect citizens' right to speak and associate anonymously, guard against unreasonable searches and seizures, and protect their right to privacy."
It's the latest public fallout following press reports based on information supplied by a former NSA contractor who leaked details on the existence of top-secret surveillance program. The disclosures, first reported in The Guardian and the Washington Post, tell a tale of widespread information gathering of Internet and phone information. But given the NSA's shadowy nature, the public has yet to sort out fact from fiction in what is, admittedly, an explosive but complicated story.
Related stories
- Secret court lifts veil, slightly, on Google, Microsoft lawsuits
- Following Google, Microsoft also challenges DOJ gag order
- Data, meet spies: The unfinished state of Web crypto
- Student group files complaint against U.S. firms over NSA data snooping
- A modest proposal for privacy control
