In the weeks following the revelations of secret National Security Agency's surveillance programs, the NSA brass have claimed the agency tries to minimize the amount of data it collects from American citizens. Classified documents published Thursday reveal the exact minimization procedures it uses when incidentally collecting such data.
The documents, posted by The Guardian, were signed by Attorney General Eric Holder in 2009. They corroborate much of what NSA Chief Gen. Keith Alexander and other top intelligence community officials have been saying in congressional testimony, while providing more information about the exact methods the NSA uses to minimize data and the opportunities it provides itself to avoid minimization.
Most importantly, they reveal that communications from United States citizens or individuals in the U.S. collected by the NSA will be immediately destroyed once they're recognized as such -- unless they're "reasonably believed" to contain:
Foreign intelligence information. In this case, they're handed over to the FBI.
Information about a crime that has been, is being or is about to be committed. In this case, the data is sent to the appropriate federal law enforcement agency based on the crime in question (DEA would get info about drug-related crimes, etc.).
"Technical data base information," which is defined as any information collected for cyptoanalysis, traffic analysis or "signal exploitation purposes." This essentially means the NSA can keep anything that's encrypted. This is likely so that it can try to break said encryption, which is the agency's raison d'être.
Intelligence reports based on information collected from an American citizen or a person in the U.S. shared by the NSA must be stripped of personally identifiable information "so that the information cannot reasonably be connected with an identifiable United States person." This comes with a handful of important caveats. Stripping of personal identification is not required if:
The person has consented to sharing the information or if the NSA is sharing public information.
The person's identity is "necessary to understand foreign intelligence information."
Intelligence suggests the person is an agent of a foreign power, living abroad and holding a position of power in a foreign government or military, a corporation owned directly or indirectly by a foreign power, or acting in cahoots with a foreign power to leak classified information.
The person may be the target of surveillance by a foreign nation.
The person's identify is required to assess a national security vulnerability.
The person is engaging in terrorism.
A judge approved the collection of the person's communications.
Additionally, the NSA will immediately stop monitoring the communication between a person known to be under criminal indictment in the U.S. and their attorney representing them in that case. Per the documents and Gen. Alexander's earlier statements, any information collected about an American citizen must be destroyed within five years.
Another document posted on The Guardian reveals information about the NSA's procedures for targeting non-U.S. citizens.
The full minimization document is embedded below. Do these revelations make the NSA's surveillance programs less concerning, or is the agency giving itself too much "wiggle room?" Share your thoughts in the comments.