ACLU Comments to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board on its Review of Executive Order 12333

These comments from the ACLU were submitted to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) on Jan. 13, 2016 to provide recommendations for the board’s review of Executive Order (EO) 12333. EO 12333 is the primary authority the NSA uses to gather foreign intelligence and it provides the government with broad latitude to conduct surveillance on Americans and persons around the world without judicial review or other protections. The ACLU urges the PCLOB to: 1) issue a public report summarizing the scope of the surveillance conducted under EO 12333 programs; 2) recommend that Congress pass legislation to appropriately limit the surveillance conducted under EO 12333 and bring it in line with the Constitution and international law; and 3) recommend that the Executive Branch adopt a series of reforms to limit the surveillance conducted under EO 12333 until Congress is able to pass legislation.