Bush 'Privacy Board' Just a Gag

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72248-0.html

By Ryan Singel

WASHINGTON -- The first public meeting of a Bush administration "civil
liberties protection panel" had a surreal quality to it, as the five- 
member
board refused to answer any questions from the press, and stonewalled
privacy advocates and academics on key questions about domestic spying.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board <http:// 
privacyboard.gov/> ,
which met Tuesday, was created by Congress in 2004 on the  
recommendation of
the 9/11 Commission, but is part of the White House, which handpicked  
all
the members. Though mandated by law in late 2004, the board was not  
sworn in
until March 2006, due to inaction on the part of the White House and
Congress.

The three-hour meeting, held at Georgetown University, quickly  
established
that the panel would be something less than a fierce watchdog of civil
liberties. Instead, members all but said they view their job as helping
Americans learn to relax and love warrantless surveillance.

"The question is, how much can the board share with the public about the
protections incorporated in both the development and implementation  
of those
policies?" said Alan Raul, a Washington D.C. lawyer who serves as vice
chairman. "On the public side, I believe the board can help advance  
national
security and the rights of American by helping explain how the  
government
safeguards U.S. personal information."

Board members were briefed on the government's NSA-run warrantless
wiretapping program last week, and said they were impressed by how the
program handled information collected from American citizens' private  
phone
calls and e-mail.

But the ACLU's Caroline Fredrickson was quick to ridicule the board's
response to the administration's anti-terrorism policies, charging  
that the
panel's private meetings to date largely consisted of phone calls with
government insiders and agencies.

"When our government is torturing innocent people and spying on  
Americans
without a warrant, the PCLOB should act -- indeed, should have acted  
long
ago," Fredrickson said. "Clearly you've been fiddling while Rome  
burns. This
board needs to bring a little sunshine. So far America is kept in the  
dark
-- and this is the first public meeting you have had."

...

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