Civil liberties board backs U.S. snooping program, but demands big changes

The civil liberties board urged Congress on Thursday to renew the government’s top snooping tool, which scoops up communications from thousands of targets, saying that even with all its flaws, the program has sniffed out serious terrorist threats to the U.S.

All five members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board agreed on the value of what is known as the Section 702 program but said they have serious questions about its reach into Americans’ lives.

Their most important recommendation was to require the FBI and other agencies to prove “probable cause” to a court before checking an American’s name against the databaseTwo board members were so troubled that they refused to sign on to the final report. They said Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act must be revamped to prevent weaponization against Americans and pointed to government actions in the 2016 presidential campaign as a warning.

They said the government should focus the tool more on foreigners, particularly those seeking to enter the U.S. as immigrants or visitors....more