In an effort to show the public that the National Security Agency's surveillance program exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden doesn't infringe upon people's civil liberties the Obama administration released a set of documents pertaining to the program, according to USA Today.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper released a document showing that Verizon Communications was order to give the government the phone records of a huge number of Americans as well as other documents pertinent to the NSA surveillance program, according to the Washington Post.
Clapper determined that the documents served the public interest and that they were released "in the interest of increased transparency," according to a press release from Clapper's office.
The documents released reveal very little new information; most of it had already been made public either by Snowden or in the hearings dealing with the aftermath of Snowden's leak, according to Reuters.
Coinciding with the release of the documents The Guardian came out with a story revealing the existence of an NSA program called XKeyscore from documents given to them by Snowden.
"A top secret National Security Agency program allows analysts to sear with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats, and the browsing histories of millions of individuals," The Guardian said.
Analysts are able to search the database by phone number, name, email address or IP address. As long as they have that information they are able to see the content of emails, chats, browsing history and more. When dealing with phone communications the NSA would have to go to a special court to gain access to the content of phone calls, XKeyscore allows analysts to spy on web documents without any authorization, according to The Guardian.
"One document, a top secret 2010 guide describing the training received by NSA analysts for general surveillance under the Fisa Amendments Act of 2008, explains that analysts can begin surveillance on anyone by clicking a few simple pull-down menus designed to provide both legal and targeting justifications," The Guardian explains. "Once options on the pull-down menus are selected, their target is marked for electronic surveillance and the analust is able to review the content of their communications."
The NSA responded to the article by issuing the following statement:
"NSA's activities are focused and specifically deployed against - and only against - legitimate foreign intelligence targets in response to requirements that our leaders need for information necessary to protect our nation and its interests. XKeyscore is used as part of NSA's lawful foreign signals intelligence collection system....There are multiple technical, manual and supervisory checks and balances within the system to prevent deliberate misuse from occurring. Every search by an NSA analyst is fully audible, to ensure that they are proper and within the law."
