Surveillance in the Post-Obama Era; New York Times, 10/8/16

Editorial Board, New York Times; Surveillance in the Post-Obama Era:

"One big issue is what to do when a key provision of the law that gives the N.S.A. the authority to collect the electronic communications of foreigners — which inevitably sucks in their correspondence with Americans — expires at the end of 2017. Before reauthorizing that part of the law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the next president and Congress should craft a more narrow authority that ensures that the data of Americans cannot be searched without a warrant.

How best to respond to encryption technology, which is evolving rapidly, will be another major challenge...

The next president needs to take the initiative early on to outline a responsible philosophy and approach toward surveillance and privacy issues. Even if that happens, Congress still needs to be more assertive than in the past in setting clear parameters to ensure that intelligence gathering programs are legally sound and effective. It would be a shame if it took a new whistle-blower to force what should be a continuing, vigorous debate."