NSA chief defends facial-reorganization program

The director of the National Security Agency has defended the agency’s daily collection of millions of online images from US citizens as “legal” and conducted for the purpose of countering terrorism.

Admiral Michael Rogers on Tuesday said the agency’s facial recognition program follows legal procedures.

The NSA has been collecting millions of electronic images from the Internet for its facial-recognition program, according to the classified documents obtained from American whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The images are collected from emails, text messages, social media, videoconferences and other communications, the New York Times reported.

“We do not do this in some unilateral basis against US citizens,” said Rogers at a conference on cyber security in Washington. “We have very specific restrictions when it comes to US persons.”

Rogers tried to ease concerns about the government’s data collection and said the agency does not use passports or vehicle databases.

A Senate meeting scheduled for next week aims to clarify a framework for NSA’s functions and set privacy limits for the investigation of citizens.

“In broad terms, we have to stop what we’re doing if we come to the realization that somebody we’re monitoring or tracking has a US connection that we were unaware of,” Rogers said, according to Bloomberg. “We have to assess the situation and if we think there is a legal basis for this and we have to get the legal authority or justification.”

The US spy agency has in the past four years significantly increased its reliance on new software which can recognize faces, according to the report.

The software allows the NSA to intercept millions of images daily, including some 55,000 “facial recognition quality images.”

The documents show the NSA is shifting its focus on facial images and fingerprints as opposed to written and oral communications.

NSA officials say the sophisticated technology can revolutionize the way the agency can find its intelligence targets throughout the world.

Based on privacy and surveillance laws, the spy agency is not allowed to collect facial images without court approval.