Leaked documents reveal NSA’s significant breach of privacy law

Classified documents leaked by Edward Snowden, a former computer specialist for The National Security Agency, reveal the NSA has been overstepping its powers and breaking privacy laws thousands of times per year.

According to The Washington Post , violations of privacy laws range from inadvertent operator errors to significant breaches of the Fourth Amendment involving the illegal use of data collected from over 3000 Americans.

An anonymous NSA official told The Washington Post, “We’re a human-run agency operating in a complex environment with a number of different regulatory regimes, so at times we find ourselves on the wrong side of the line.”

This report came just days after President Barack Obama proposed plans to reform the NSA’s surveillance programs. These reforms include modifying NSA technology to prohibit unlawful prying and, most notably, requiring the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court have a privacy advocate.

The Wallstreet Journal quotes President Obama, “It’s not enough for me, as president, to have confidence in these programs; the American people need to have confidence in them as well.”