Senator Al Franken (D. MN) published an op-ed piece for CNN today regarding transparency and domestice surveillance:
http://www.cnn.com/...
Last month, when Edward Snowden began leaking highly classified documents to the press, many Americans were shocked by what they read.
I don't blame them. For years, the architecture of the programs designed to keep us safe have been a secret to all but a few members of the intelligence community and select legislators. The companies that were involved in these programs were under strict gag orders. And while members of Congress had the opportunity to be briefed on these programs, it would have been a crime, literally, for us to have talked about them publicly.
As a result, when Snowden's leaks became public, Americans had no way of knowing the scope of these programs, their privacy protections and the legal authorities they were operating under. It was just Snowden and his documents on the one side and the government on the other, saying "trust us."
The government must give proper weight to both keeping America safe from terrorists and protecting Americans' privacy. But when Americans lack the most basic information about our domestic surveillance programs, they have no way of knowing whether we're getting that balance right. This lack of transparency is a big problem. - Senator Al Franken (D. MN), CNN, 7/23/13
More below the fold.
Franken goes on to talk about his record on privacy and civil liberties including supporting amendments to the Patriot Act and FISA to that required greater public reporting on the use of surveillance authorities and greater disclosures about the legal opinions and safeguards that support them. Franken also stated that he voted against renewing the Patriot Act and FISA when they failed to include such amendments. Franken believes the programs can be used to protect Americans from terrorism but they can be designed to protect and respect American citizens privacy. Hence why it might explain this statement:
http://thehill.com/...
“I have a high level of confidence that this is used to protect us and I know that it has been successful in preventing terrorism,” Franken said, adding that "this is not about spying on the American people." - The Hill, 6/11/13
I know this statement has made people here upset and I was perplexed when Senator Franken made such a statement at the time. Before he made that statement, Franken had this to say:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
“There’s a balance to strike between protecting Americans’ privacy and protecting our country’s national security. I don’t think we’ve struck that balance. I’m concerned about the lack of transparency of these programs. The American public can’t be kept in the dark about the basic architecture of the programs designed to protect them.
“We need to revisit how we address that balance. I agree with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) that the relevant significant FISA Court opinions should be made public to the degree possible, consistent with protecting national security.” - Politicus USA, 6/6/13
Franken followed up that statement with this:
Franken, the chairman of the Senate’s Privacy, Technology and the Law Subcommittee, said he’d learned about “programs like this one” through classified briefings before, but he still had questions about the National Security Agency’s practice of requesting records from cellular companies like Verizon.
“We have to see what safeguards there are and how this program is structured, and how this data is used and whether it’s stored, for example,” he said.
On Thursday, the UK’s Guardian reported on a secret April court order requiring Verizon to turn over the “metadata” associated with its users’ cell phone calls: where the user was, who they were talking to, how long the conversation lasted, etc.
Franken was on the way to an intelligence briefing on Thursday afternoon. He said the matter “may very well be” a future topic for his privacy subcommittee to consider.
“I want to learn a lot more about it,” he said. “I’d like the administration to be as transparent as absolutely possible.” - Minn Post, 6/6/13
I won't defend everything Franken has stated in the past but his actions do speak louder than words:
http://www.presstv.ir/...
Unusual bedfellows Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) co-sponsored a bill that would declassify FISA court opinions;
The Merkley-Lee bill has gained the most traction, with 12 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. Merkley, Lee, Udall, Wyden, Paul and Leahy are joined by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.). A companion piece of legislation was also introduced in the House of Representatives last week, but with fewer backers. - Press TV 6/28/13
Franken's also authored legislation protecting consumers privacy from corporations:
Franken wants to legislate to make location data collection opt-in only. He recently pulled up retail analytics firm Euclid for the opt-out nature of its system.
Euclid works with clothing stores, quick-service restaurants, shopping malls and department stores to measure shopper activity in-store, either by tracking the wi-fi signals given off by mobile phones or by using specially-fitted sensors. It recently landed $17m in financing.
The firm’s privacy policy explains that it “collects only basic device information that is broadcast by wi-fi enabled phones. This does not include any sensitive data such as who you are, whom you call, or the websites you visit”.
But in a letter sent to Euclid on 13 March, Franken said: “It’s one thing to track someone’s shopping habits through a loyalty card or credit card purchase; folks understand that their information may be collected. It’s another thing entirely to track consumers’ movements without their permission as they shop, especially when someone doesn’t buy anything or even enter a store. People have a fundamental right to privacy, and I think neglecting to ask consumers for their permission to track them violates that right.” - Research, 4/4/13
And legislation that makes cell phone transferring easier:
The bi-partisan backed bill would let you keep your phone when you switch providers. Franken says it's a common sense solution, giving people their freedom of choice back.
Currently you can "not" take your phone and switch to another provider at a cheaper price.
Franken says, "It's the way it's been since we had cellphones and smart phones. It's just that the Library of Congress changed it and Congress can change it back and we're going to do it."
So what's the penalty for breaking the law? Senator Franken says it could put you behind bars for up to five years. The bill is set to be vote on in the upcoming weeks. - WDAY News 6, 3/13/13
And of course I'm looking forward to this:
I'm working on legislation that will require the federal government to annually report how it uses key authorities under the Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, including the authorities underlying the phone metadata and the PRISM electronic surveillance programs that recently came to light. For each of these authorities, the government must disclose how many Americans' information is being collected and how many Americans' information is being queried and actually seen by federal officers or agents.
My legislation would also allow companies to publicly report on how many Patriot and FISA orders they're getting and how many of their customers these orders affect. There's a way to do this that protects national security. Since 2009, Google has been reporting on the number of national security letters it receives, and that hasn't hurt anyone. I frankly think that after Snowden's disclosures, an even stronger case can be made that we can achieve greater transparency without harming national security. - Senator Al Franken (D. MN), CNN, 7/23/13
So Franken's past actions show that his heart is in the right place on this issue and I still have some trust in him on this issue but I don't know if FISA and the Patriot Act are still needed. I think getting rid of these programs would be the best thing but if we can at least get tighter restrictions on how the NSA's surveillance activity, that would be one hell of a start. Tomorrow the House will vote on a bill to curtail the NSA's powers. Please click here to contact your representative to vote in favor of the Amash amendment:
http://campaigns.dailykos.com/...