Live Blog: Obama announces NSA changes

President Barack Obama announces sweeping changes to U.S. surveillance efforts exposed by intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, whose disclosures raised questions about government overreach in fighting terror. Follow this live blog for updates and analysis.

by Eric Weisbrod, CNN 1/17/2014 5:35:56 PM
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama on Friday defended the the "vital role" that intelligence-gathering plays in the nation's security, as he nonetheless announced changes aimed at increasing transparency and protecting privacy and civil liberties.
Presidential guidance released as Obama spoke at the Justice Department said the government will not collect intelligence "for the purpose of suppressing or burdening criticism or dissent, or for disadvantaging persons based on their ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion."
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3rd & 7 37yd

by Eric Weisbrod, CNN 1/17/2014 3:43:37 PM
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama on Friday will announce the end of the controversial NSA telephone metadata collection program "as it currently exists," a senior administration official told CNN.
Obama will say that he is ordering a transition of the current intelligence-gathering program to one that addresses concerns of privacy and civil liberties, the official said. Read more
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 3:50:20 PM
From CNN Justice Reporter Evan Perez: In the Justice Department ceremonial Great Hall, heavy security and limited admission only to dignitaries such as government lawyers and members of Congress make it unlikely we'll have protesters such as Code Pink who have disrupted past presidential speeches.

There is a curtain blocking off the partially nude statues in the hall, which garnered controversy during the tenure of Attorney General John Ashcroft (he had them draped with a cloth for modesty).
by Wolf Blitzer via twitter 1/17/2014 3:52:01 PM
Stand by for our special live @CNN coverage of President @BarackObama speech on #NSA spying. I'm anchoring starting 11AM ET
by Eric Weisbrod, CNN 1/17/2014 3:55:18 PM
What's the impact of NSA data collection?
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:04:10 PM
Retired Maj. Gen. James 'Spider' Marks says he doubts anything is going to "substantively change" in terms of using data collection to go after terrorism.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:07:04 PM
The White House has just about acknowledged that it has spied on world leaders, including allied leaders, CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta reports. The president is also expected to announce a "privacy advocate" to the federal surveillance court.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:08:10 PM
Per CNN's Wolf Blitzer, one thing to look for in the President's speech: Will Obama mention Edward Snowden by name?
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:11:35 PM
Fast facts about Edward Snowden
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:12:46 PM
FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Eric Holder just walked in, meaning the President should follow shortly.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:15:27 PM
The President just took the podium at the Justice Department.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:17:33 PM
"Throughout American history, intelligence has helped us" secure freedom, Obama said, citing Paul Revere's patrolling of the streets during the American Revolution to see if the British were planning any raids as a first example.
by Ryan Lizza via twitter 1/17/2014 4:17:45 PM
Programing note: nothing you're about to hear would have happened absent Edward Snowden's actions.
by Jim Acosta via twitter 1/17/2014 4:17:52 PM
NSA chief Gen. Alexander, Holder, Leahy spotted on hand for POTUS NSA reform speech.
by Evan Pérez via twitter 1/17/2014 4:18:03 PM
Crux of PresObama NSA changes: no NSA abuses seen, changes aimed at stopping "prospective" abuse, admin ofcls say
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:18:24 PM
But he said the United States has proved not to be immune to the abuse of the power, referencing the government's spying on civil rights leaders in the 1960s.
by Jake Tapper via twitter 1/17/2014 4:19:01 PM
POTUS invokes "small, secret surveillance committee borne out of the 'The Sons of Liberty'" w/member Paul Revere #NSAspeech
by Dana Davidsen, CNN 1/17/2014 4:19:58 PM
From CNN Justice Reporter Even Perez: Internet coverage is spotty in the Great Hall. I am told by the DOJ that this is just a common thing as the building is very old. Irony isn't it? The one place where the NSA probably can't collect our data because we are disconnected.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:20:09 PM
After 9/11 "we had to adapt" to a new world. "We were shaken by the signs we had missed leading up to the attacks...so we demanded our intelligence community improve its capabilities."
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:21:43 PM
After 9/111, the job given to the intelligence community was enormous, Obama said, saying the priority became prevention of terrorism attacks, rather than chasing terrorists after they've already carried out violence.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:22:33 PM
New presidential guidance on U.S. surveillance unveiled by Obama says the government will not collect intelligence "for the purpose of suppressing or burdening criticism or dissent, or for disadvantaging persons based on their ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion."
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:23:04 PM
The official guidance released Obama delivered a speech also "signals that intelligence shall be collected exclusively where there is a foreign intelligence or counterintelligence purpose to support national and departmental missions and not for any other purposes."
by Eric Weisbrod, CNN 1/17/2014 4:23:35 PM
Zeke Johnson of Amnesty International:
Zeke Johnson
@ZekeJohnsonAi
President repeats red-herring about 9/11 fail related to lack of surveillance. Problem was lack of sharing existing info btw CIA & FBI
Jan. 17, 2014
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by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:24:16 PM
Obama touted the benefits of NSA surveillance programs but said "the government collection and storage of such bulk data also creates potential for abuse."
by Jake Tapper via twitter 1/17/2014 4:24:21 PM
POTUS says post-9/11 "We were shaken by the signs we had missed leading up to the attacks." #NSAspeech
by Jim Acosta via twitter 1/17/2014 4:24:47 PM
Obama acknowledges he was sometimes a surveillance critic: "as a senator I was critical of several practices" of intel gathering.
by Ryan Lizza via twitter 1/17/2014 4:25:03 PM
Funfact: 1 of the first bills Obama co-sponsored as sebator would have made bulk collection of phone metadata under Section 215 impossible.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:25:19 PM
"Intelligence agencies cannot function without secrecy...yet there is inevitable bias...to collect more information about the world, not less. So in the absence of institutional requirements...and oversight that is public...the danger of government overreach becomes more acute."
by cnnbrk via twitter 1/17/2014 4:26:28 PM
Obama's new #NSA guidance: Gov't won't collect intel to suppress criticism or dissent. cnn.it/1kGcNEy
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:26:47 PM
Obama said he maintained a "health skepticism" of the NSA programs after he became president and made some changes....But he defended the purpose of the agency: "What I did not do is stop these programs wholesale."
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:28:12 PM
"The men and women at the NSA know that if another 9/11 or massive cyber attack occurs, they will be asked by Congress and the media why they failed to connect the dots," he says. What sustains NSA employees is that their work plays a "central role in the security of our nation."
by Eric Weisbrod, CNN 1/17/2014 4:28:47 PM
From Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah.
Mike Lee
@SenMikeLee
Privacy isn't something we give up to have security. Privacy is a form of security: ow.ly/sGNGl #NSA
Jan. 17, 2014
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by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:29:19 PM
"Given the fact of an open investigation, I’m not going to dwell on Mr. Snowden’s actions or motivations."
by Dana Davidsen, CNN 1/17/2014 4:29:26 PM
From CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta: DNI James Clapper on the intelligence reforms being announced by the President:

"The President took a measured and thoughtful approach to the intelligence reforms he's directing today. These adjustments and those under consideration are focused on striking the right balance between making sure we have the tools necessary to conduct intelligence, that we are being as transparent as possible and that we're not violating the civil liberties and privacy of innocent Americans. His decisions were guided by recommendations from the Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, and close consultation with Congress and IC leaders. "

"I was gratified that he expressed his continued confidence in the men and women of the Intelligence Community. He recognized the IC workforce for performing extraordinarily difficult jobs where success is rarely celebrated, but is vital to our national security. It's something our workforce needed to hear after what has been a challenging past several months.”
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:29:46 PM
"I will say that our nation’s defense depends in part on the fidelity of those entrusted with our nation’s secrets. If any individual who objects to government policy can take it in their own hands to publicly disclose classified information, then we will not be able to keep our people safe, or conduct foreign policy."
by CNN NationalSecurity via twitter 1/17/2014 4:29:55 PM
POTUS defending work of intel community - "including the #NSA " - says they're not abusing their authority or reading your emails.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:29:57 PM
"Moreover, the sensational way in which these disclosures have come out has often shed more heat than light, while revealing methods to our adversaries that could impact our operations in ways that we may not fully understand for years to come."
by Evan Pérez via twitter 1/17/2014 4:30:20 PM
NSA employees who have grumbled at weak defense of their work by admin, will find a lot to like in president defending them in this spch
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:30:29 PM
"Regardless of how we got here, though, the task before us now is greater than simply repairing the damage done to our operations; or preventing more disclosures from taking place in the future. Instead, we have to make some important decisions about how to protect ourselves and sustain our leadership in the world, while upholding the civil liberties and privacy protections that our ideals – and our Constitution – require."
by Ryan Lizza via twitter 1/17/2014 4:30:33 PM
Obama's telling of recent history of these programs completely skips over the fact that FISA ct found massive compliance problems w/215&702.
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:30:54 PM
"We need to do so not only because it is right, but because the challenges posed by threats like terrorism, proliferation, and cyber-attacks are not going away any time soon. They are going to continue to be a major problem. And for our intelligence community to be effective over the long haul, we must continue to the trust of the American people, and people around the world."
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:31:07 PM
"This effort will not be completed overnight, and given the pace of technological change, we shouldn’t expect this to be the last time America has this debate. But I want the American people to know that the work has begun."
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:31:50 PM
"Over the last six months, I created an outside Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies to make recommendations for reform. I’ve consulted with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. I’ve listened to foreign partners, privacy advocates, and industry leaders. My Administration has spent countless hours considering how to approach intelligence in this era of diffuse threats and technological revolution. So before outlining specific changes that I have ordered, let me make a few broad observations that have emerged from this process."
by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:32:33 PM
"First, everyone who has looked at these problems, including skeptics of existing programs, recognizes that we have real enemies and threats, and that intelligence serves a vital role in confronting them. We cannot prevent terrorist attacks or cyber-threats without some capability to penetrate digital communications – whether it’s to unravel a terrorist plot; to intercept malware that targets a stock exchange; to make sure air traffic control systems are not compromised; or to ensure that hackers do not empty your bank accounts."
by Eric Weisbrod, CNN 1/17/2014 4:33:09 PM
Amnesty International's Zeke Johnson:
Zeke Johnson
@ZekeJohnsonAi
If Obama reforms #NSA surveillance like he reformed drone strikes, we're in a lot of trouble: secrecy, impunity, distortions of intl law
Jan. 17, 2014
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by CNN's Ashley Killough 1/17/2014 4:33:16 PM
"Moreover, we cannot unilaterally disarm our intelligence agencies. There is a reason why blackberries and I-Phones are not allowed in the White House Situation Room. We know that the intelligence services of other countries – including some who feign surprise over the Snowden disclosures – are constantly probing our government and private sector networks, and accelerating programs to listen to our conversations, intercept our emails, or compromise our systems."

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