Obama panel says NSA should continue spying on every phone call

A US presidential review panel tasked with examining policies and procedures at the National Security Agency has concluded that a program to collect data on every phone call made in the United States should continue.

The committee recommended, however, the bulk collection of phone records by the NSA be carried out under broad new restraints that would be intended to increase privacy protections, the New York Times reports citing US officials familiar with the report’s contents.

The panel proposed that the records of phone calls made in the United States be held by the phone company or a third-party organization instead of the NSA.

It also recommends White House review of eavesdropping on foreign leaders. Administration officials say the White House has already taken over supervision of an NSA program that monitors the communication of foreign leaders.

“We’re not leaving it to Jim Clapper anymore,” said one official, referring to the Director of National Intelligence, who appears to have been the highest official to review the programs regularly.

Another recommendation calls for the creation of a group of legal advocates to argue privacy rights against NSA lawyers before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the super secret court that approves spying programs, the administration official said.

The draft proposals are not binding and could change before the final draft is submitted.

President Barack Obama appointed the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology in August in response to an international and domestic backlash against US surveillance programs exposed in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander defended the agency’s spying activities across the globe, saying such activities are the best way to defend the US against potential threats.