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Last Friday, President Barack Obama delivered his long-awaited speech addressing recent revelations that the federal government, especially the National Security Agency (NSA), has been engaged in a massive program surveilling the communications of virtually every American who uses a cell phone or other internet-based device. Obama, who claims to head the most “transparent” presidency ever, spoke glowingly and eloquently how his Administration will move actively to rein in the domestic spying program and strike the proper balance with civil liberties; unfortunately, he did neither. On cue, of course, the Washington Post -- one of Obama’s most fervent enablers in the...

Nice speech yesterday? Well, not really. There are some points on which I agree with the President, which is a shocker all on its own. For instance, I agree that we can spy on people outside the United States who are a threat to the country. We always have as a nation; this is not new. And, I agree with his change requiring a warrant before US phone records are accessed. That's a new one for the President, and it's a good one. However, what I didn't hear today was any reform on mass-collection itself, nor on penalties for lies...

US President Barack Obama has said he will not spy on EU leaders or conduct economic espionage, but will continue snooping on ordinary US and EU citizens.He made the pledge in a TV speech on Friday (17 January) in reaction to the Edward Snowden leaks. “I’ve made clear to the intelligence community that unless there is a compelling national security purpose, we will not monitor the communications of heads of state and government of our close friends and allies,” he said. “We do not collect intelligence to provide a competitive advantage to US companies or US commercial sectors,” he added....

Reaction from lawmakers, privacy groups, foreign leaders, industry and the intelligence community to President Barack Obama's proposals to change the way U.S. intelligence agencies collect information: ...

President Barack Obama announced Friday that John Podesta, his new "counselor" and the political operative responsible for creating the institutional left in Washington, will be the appointed "to lead a comprehensive review of big data and privacy" in the aftermath of revelations about the National Security Agency's electronic spying programs. When he joined the White House last month, Podesta's focus was said to be "climate change." The president's speech contained little news. It was a classic Obama set-piece, designed to demonstrate that he understands both sides of a complex argument, while delegating

Video - only Streamed live on Jan 17, 2014 President Barack Obama address changes to government surveillance practices.

Obama to speak on the NSA surveillance scandal from the Justice Department around 11 a.m. EST today.C-SPAN's description:The President delivers remarks at the Department of Justice presenting the outcomes of the Administration's review of U.S. signals intelligence programs. He is expected to focus on steps that increase oversight and transparency while leaving the framework of the surveillance programs in place. In addition, according to officials, the President will turn to Congress for guidance regarding the future of NSA data collection. The President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies recommended more than 40 suggested changes at the NSA in a...