FITUG e.V.
Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft
FITUG e.V.Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft |
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http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?50+Duke+L.+J.+1467
ECHELON AND THE LEGAL RESTRAINTS ON SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE: A NEED FOR REEVALUATION
LAWRENCE D. SLOAN
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CONCLUSION
Given all of the above criticism of the current legal regime governing SIGINT activities, one might think that the author is firmly in favor of further restricting the capabilities of American SIGINT organizations. This is not the case. The services provided by these organizations are essential to the national security of this nation. Although the intelligence community, especially the segment involved [*pg 1510] in SIGINT, is necessarily hesitant to trumpet its successes, there can be little doubt that the information gathered via SIGINT operations has saved the lives of numerous Americans both in the United States and abroad.199 Systems such as ECHELON must be permitted to function in the most effective manner possible that does not unacceptably compromise the privacy and freedoms that are so important to Americans. It is understandable that this may involve some invasion of the privacy of American persons, but this is a balance that must be maintained. While the prospect of occasionally having innocent e-mail messages screened by a NSA computer is troublesome, the prospect of inhaling sarin gas on the New York City subway system is far more alarming. Given our democratic form of government, this balance must be dictated by our elected officials, namely Congress and the President.
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