When will President Obama get serious about NSA reform?

[Commentary] When President Barack Obama speaks about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) controversial electronic surveillance program, he leaves the impression that its existing privacy protections are sufficient, if only we knew enough to appreciate them. That hardly instills confidence.

If the President is serious about fixing the enormous overreach of US surveillance, he should take these steps:

• First, recognize 4th Amendment protection for our metadata.
• Second, recognize the privacy rights of non-Americans outside the United States.
• Third, treat privacy rights as implicated as soon as information is collected.
• Fourth, revamp the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court.
• Fifth, protect whistleblowers.
• Sixth, appoint an independent reform commission.

[Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch]