No ties to terrorism? Obama's watching you anyway

No ties to terrorism? Too bad, the Obama administration can still keep your information for up to five years under new guidelines. Until now, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) had to destroy immediately any information they gathered on Americans unless the agency could establish terrorist ties. 

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - The expansion of retention time originates with members of Congress who argued the retention time was necessary to allow agencies to make possible connections between possible terrorists and their plots. The myriad intelligence and data collection agencies realized they might destroy critical data without realizing they may have vital data that another agency could use. 

The new guidelines address a concern that arose from the failed terrorist attempt to destroy a Detroit-bound airliner in December 2009. 

In a statement issued late Thursday, the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper said, "Following the failed terrorist attack in December 2009, representatives of the counterterrorism community concluded it is vital for NCTC to be provided with a variety of datasets from various agencies that contain terrorism information. The ability to search against these datasets for up to five years on a continuing basis as these updated guidelines permit will enable NCTC to accomplish its mission more practically and effectively."

The new guidelines replace those issued in 2008.

Privacy advocates are concerned. 

Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center pointed out that it is a substantial expansion of the authority of the government to conduct surveillance. He also said the new guidelines undermine the Federal Privacy Act. 

He added, "The fact that this data can be retained for five years on U.S. citizens for whom there's no evidence of criminal conduct is very disturbing." 

The Obama Administration is defending the new rules, saying they come with a number of safeguards that will protect privacy and civil liberties. For example, before the NCTC can gather data held by another agency, a high-level review is required to see if the data "is likely to contain significant terrorism information," according to Alexander Joel, the civil liberties protection officer at the national intelligence directorate. 

The NCTC was formed following the September 11, 2001 attacks as an agency whose purpose was to aggregate and analyze data on suspected terrorists.

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