Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board: Update surveillance guidelines

A federal privacy watchdog pressed the Obama Administration to update old rules governing how and when it gathers, retains or shares intelligence about US persons. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board expressed its concerns that the surveillance guidelines in place at some agencies “have not comprehensively been updated, in some cases in almost three decades, despite dramatic changes in information use and technology.” David Medine, the board’s chairman, said the review is “a link in the process,” ensuring the government is properly collecting data while it scours the globe for terrorists. He said many of the existing guidelines, some of which are classified, predate text messaging and other technologies.