Obama says NSA will stop phone data collection and storage, data search will require court approval

On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama outlined the proposed changes in the National Security Agency. The Wall Street Journal said the changes were a response to the scandals the federal agency was involved in after former government contractor Edward Snowden first revealed documents to support claims that the US government has a surveillance program that monitors and collects phone calls. Obama said that the NSA will be ending the collection and storage of massive amounts of phone call data, and will now require the federal agency to secure an approval from a judge per data search.

During a conference in The Hague, Netherlands, Obama said about the official order, "I'm confident that it allows us to do what is necessary in order to deal with the dangers of a terrorist attack, (but in a way that alleviates concerns about the program. The proposal is part of an effort that is) slowly, systematically putting in checks, balances, legal processes."

WSJ said that the announcement followed just days before he established a March 28 deadline for intelligence and law-enforcement officials to submit proposals to restructure the government phone program. Because of Obama's order, government aides have been quoted as saying that data searches will now be conducted at phone companies, which will subsequently end the NSA's practice of compiling their own records. Moreover, Reuters said that the the government will need to get an approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to review data and that the data search should be of national interest.

On the other hand, WSJ said that Obama will have to continue renewing his order to authorize changes to the current phone program of the US government until the US Congress actually passes legislation for the order to take effect. The newspaper said that Obama's legal authority will expire this Friday at 5PM. Moreover, he has assured allied countries during a latest conference held in the Netherlands that his government will be holding on to as many capabilities of the surveillance program as much as possible while reducing its role in controlling the database, Reuters said.

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NSA Surveillance Program, NSA policies overhaul

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