The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board expects...

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board expects its next report, focusing on the electronic surveillance authorized by Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702, to come out “in the next couple of months,” PCLOB Chairman David Medine said at a George Washington University event Wednesday. “There'll be some challenging issues,” he said. PCLOB released its report and recommendations on phone surveillance last week, the majority of the five-member board judging the practice illegal. Medine is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday at a 10 a.m. hearing in 2141 Rayburn. Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has asserted his committee’s role over surveillance. “I look forward to hearing the different perspectives of the witnesses next week so that we are fully informed as we move forward with legislative action,” he said in a statement Thursday (http://1.usa.gov/1dQCpVN). PCLOB is still figuring out what its future role might be, Medine said, citing an increase in staffing and eventually the possibility that PCLOB may be able to focus on multiple reports at once. PCLOB now is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security on a report DHS is developing, according to Medine. He said there are complications in where to put the metadata, saying “having this information makes it a target.” He backs having the phone companies rather than the government possess the metadata, without placing additional data retention mandates on industry. There should be “case-by-case requests” of providers, which already have certain retention mandates, he said. Medine defended the legal and constitutional analysis of the Patriot Act Section 215 report, which some observers and PCLOB members have criticized. Congress instructed such legal focus, he said. Many factors need to be considered when evaluating the programs, Medine said, saying government needs to consider what happens if activities are discovered: “You need the ‘oh my god’ factor.”