Spy office denies allegations that NSA data will be used for policing

A top lawyer for the nation’s intelligence agencies is pushing back on mounting criticism about new plans to widely share intercepted data throughout the federal government. Robert Litt, the general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, confirmed that the change in policy is “in the final stages of development and approval,” in a post on national security legal blog. But Litt denied allegations that the change would allow the FBI and other agencies to use the sensitive data for domestic law enforcement matters, which members of Congress had speculated could be unconstitutional.

“There will be no greater access to signals intelligence information for law enforcement purposes than there is today,” Litt claimed. “These procedures will only ensure that other elements of the intelligence community will be able to make use of this signals intelligence if it is relevant to their intelligence mission.” The post follows mounting scrutiny on US intelligence agencies following a report in February that the administration is in the process of expanding the National Security Agency’s (NSA) ability to share information without first adding privacy protections. Earlier in March, a bipartisan pair of House lawmakers warned that the potentially “unconstitutional” and “dangerous” move might allow law enforcement agencies like the FBI to use the NSA’s data — which is collected in the course of its foreign intelligence work — for policing matters within the US.