Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) – Safeguarding the Personal Information of all People, July 2014.

“As the President said in his speech on January 17, 2014, “the challenges posed by threats like terrorism, proliferation, and cyber-attacks are not going away any time soon, and for our intelligence community to be effective over the long haul, we must maintain the trust of the American people, and people around the world.” As a part of that effort, the President made clear that the United States is committed to protecting the personal information of all people regardless of nationality. This commitment is reflected in the directions the President gave to the Intelligence Community on that same day, when he issued Presidential Policy Directive/PPD-28, Signals Intelligence Activities. New Standards for Safeguarding Privacy: PPD-28 reinforces current practices, establishes new principles, and strengthens oversight, to ensure that in conducting signals intelligence activities, the United States takes into account not only the security needs of our nation and our allies, but also the privacy of people around the world. The Intelligence Community already conducts signals intelligence activities in a carefully controlled manner, pursuant to the law and subject to layers of oversight, focusing on important foreign intelligence and national security priorities. But as the President recognized, “[o]ur efforts will only be effective if ordinary citizens in other countries have confidence that the United States respects their privacy too.” To that end, the Intelligence Community has been working hard to implement PPD-28 within the framework of existing processes, resources, and capabilities, while ensuring that mission needs continue to be met. In particular, PPD-28 directs intelligence agencies to review and update their policies and processes – and establish new ones as appropriate – to safeguard personal information collected through signals intelligence, regardless of nationality and consistent with our technical capabilities and operational needs.”

• See also EFF- New ODNI Report Doesn’t Address Mass Surveillance, Provides “Flexibility” to Skirt Privacy Commitments