Biden Issues Order Bolstering Oversight on US Intelligence Gathering - White House

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th October, 2022) US President Joe Biden issued an executive order that reinforces oversight on US intelligence gathering from communications and information systems, the White House said in a press release.

The executive order is part of the US commitments made under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework announced by Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in March 2022.

"The Executive Order adds further safeguards for US signals intelligence activities, including requiring that such activities be conducted only in pursuit of defined national security objectives; take into consideration the privacy and civil liberties of all persons, regardless of nationality or country of residence; and be conducted only when necessary to advance a validated intelligence priority and only to the extent and in a manner proportionate to that priority," the release said.

Signals intelligence activities involves gathering foreign intelligence from communications and information systems.

The executive order also extends the responsibilities of legal, oversight, and compliance officials to ensure that appropriate actions are taken to address incidents of noncompliance, the release said.

The order also requires the US intelligence community to update their policies and procedures to reflect the new privacy and civil liberties safeguards contained in the executive order, the release said.

Moreover, the order creates a multi-layer mechanism for eligible individuals to redress claims that their personal information collected through US signals intelligence was unlawfully collected or handled by the United States.