(UPI) The Obama administration says it takes privacy criticisms over its surveillance programs seriously while defending them to Congress and the U.S. public.
Obama was to meet Thursday with a bipartisan group of lawmakers -- both critics and supporters -- to discuss surveillance activities of the National Security Agency. Also, NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander was to be on Capitol Hill to answer House lawmakers' questions in a classified briefing before the August recess, The Hill reported.
The administration's efforts attempt to show officials take the privacy criticisms seriously as they defend the overall position by highlighting the protections in place. The efforts come as lawmakers are considering proposals to curb the NSA's powers.
The administration's efforts at reassurance faced another test Wednesday when information supplied by NSA leaker Edward Snowden and published by British newspaper The Guardian purported to show how analysts search databases of people's email, online chat and browsing histories without prior court authorization.
In a meeting with Senate Democrats, one senator said Obama was willing to discuss potential reforms to the NSA, which also was the topic of Thursday's discussions with lawmakers.
Also Wednesday, James Clapper, director of national intelligence, declassified several documents about the government's phone data collection program.
The administration's efforts to address privacy concerns came a week after the House narrowly defeated an amendment from Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., that would have sharply curbed the NSA's controversial collection of phone records.
However, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday, NSA Deputy Director John Inglis said U.S. bulk phone records spying was key in stopping just one terror plot, not the dozens officials had earlier said.
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