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US to Require Removal of Private Data Serving No Intelligence Purposes

Sputnik News

13:44 03.02.2015(updated 14:59 03.02.2015)

If a US citizen's conversation is picked up during foreign surveillance and is determined to have no relevance to foreign intelligence, its content must be deleted straight away. The new regulations are also expected to allow foreigners to block suspected misuse of their private data through courts in the US.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The US government will announce on Tuesday new rules that require security agencies to delete 'incidentally collected' private data of US and foreign individuals that have no intelligence purposes, The New York Times reported.

According to the newspaper's sources in US president's administration, if a US citizen's conversation is picked up during foreign surveillance and is determined to have no relevance to foreign intelligence, its content must be deleted straight away. Similar conversations among foreign citizens can be stored for up to five years and then should be deleted.

The new regulations are also expected to allow foreigners to block suspected misuse of their private data through courts in the United States if such information has been given to the FBI or other agencies by a foreign government.

In addition, the White House's regular review of the NSA's monitoring of foreign leaders will be institutionalized by the rules, according to The New York Times.

The Obama administration is also expected to require the FBI to disclose its national security letters, a practice used by the bureau to obtain certain data without court subpoenas in international terrorism or spying cases.

The United States has seen a rise in concern over privacy violations after NSA mass surveillance programs were disclosed by whistle-blower Edward Snowden in 2013. Classified documents leaked by Snowden revealed the NSA conducts large-scale surveillance programs without court authorization and runs searches through databases for private information of US citizens, foreigners and even leaders of foreign nations.

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