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<b> US spy agency seeks criminal probe into leaks</b><br>
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper accuses media of
being "reckless" in revealing monitoring of internet.<br>
Last Modified: 09 Jun 2013 03:32<br>
<br>
The Guardian revealed that National Security Agency collected
telephone records of millions of Americans [EPA]<br>
<br>
A US intelligence agency has requested a criminal probe into the
leak of highly classified information about secret surveillance
programs run by the National Security Agency, a spokesman for the
intelligence chief's office said.<br>
<br>
Confirmation that the NSA filed a "crimes report" came a few hours
after the nation's spy chief, Director of National Intelligence
James Clapper, launched an aggressive defense of a secret government
data collection program on Saturday.<br>
<br>
Clapper blasted what he called "reckless disclosures" of a highly
classified spy agency project code-named PRISM.<br>
<br>
It was not known how broad a leaks investigation was requested by
the super-secret NSA, but Shawn Turner, a spokesman for Clapper's
office, said a "crimes report has been filed."<br>
<br>
Over the last week we have seen reckless disclosures of intelligence
community measures used to keep Americans safe,<br>
<br>
James Clapper, Director of US National Intelligence<br>
<br>
The report goes to the Justice Department, which has established
procedures for determining whether an investigation is warranted.<br>
<br>
Prosecutors do not accept all requests, but they have brought a
series of high-profile leak investigations under President Barack
Obama. US officials said the NSA leaks were so astonishing they
expected the Justice Department to take the case.<br>
<br>
A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.<br>
<br>
In a statement earlier on Saturday, Clapper acknowledged PRISM's
existence by name for the first time and said it had been
mischaracterized by the media. The project was legal, not aimed at
US citizens and had thwarted threats against the country, he said.<br>
<br>
"Over the last week we have seen reckless disclosures of
intelligence community measures used to keep Americans safe,"
Clapper said in a statement.<br>
<br>
He said the surveillance activities reported in the Washington Post
and Britain's Guardian newspaper were lawful and conducted under
authorities approved by Congress. "Significant misimpressions" have
resulted from recent articles, he said.<br>
<br>
Investigating leak<br>
<br>
President Barack Obama's national security spokesman Ben Rhodes said
the administration was investigating whether the leak had put
Americans or US interests in danger, implying that legal action may
be considered.<br>
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"What we're focused on doing right now ... is frankly doing an
assessment of the damage that's been done to the national security
of the United States by the revelations of this information," he
said.<br>
<br>
The service providers - internet titans like Google, Yahoo! and
Facebook - also hit back, insisting they had not given direct access
to customer data.<br>
<br>
"Press reports that suggest that Google is providing open-ended
access to our users' data are false, period," Google's CEO Larry
Page and chief legal officer David Drummond said in a message on
their official company blog.<br>
<br>
"We had not heard of a program called PRISM until yesterday," they
said, adding: "We provide user data to governments only in
accordance with the law."<br>
<br>
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg described the press reports as
"outrageous," insisting that his firm only provided user information
to the authorities when compelled to by law. Yahoo! issued a similar
denial.<br>
<br>
"The notion that Yahoo! gives any federal agency vast or unfettered
access to our users' records is categorically false," general
counsel Ron Bell said.<br>
<br>
"We do not voluntarily disclose user information. The only
disclosures that occur are in response to specific demands."<br>
<br>
Court approved<br>
<br>
Under PRISM, which has been running for six years, the US National
Security Agency can issue directives to Internet firms demanding
access to emails, online chats, pictures, files, videos and more
uploaded by foreign users.<br>
<br>
The initial press reports that revealed the secret program suggested
the NSA had some form of back door access to the servers of firms
including Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, AOL, Skype, Apple,
PalTalk and YouTube.<br>
<br>
But Clapper's statement described a system whereby the government
must apply to a secret US court for permission to target individuals
or entities then issue a request to the service provider.<br>
<br>
"The government cannot target anyone under the court approved
procedures ... unless there is an appropriate, and documented,
foreign intelligence purpose for the acquisition," Clapper said.<br>
<br>
Such a purpose, he continued, could be "the prevention of terrorism,
hostile cyber activities or nuclear proliferation."<br>
<br>
He admitted that data on US citizens might be "incidentally
intercepted" in the course of targeting a foreign national, but said
this would not normally be shared within the intelligence community
unless it confirmed a threat.<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/06/20136904534684797.html">http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/06/20136904534684797.html</a><br>
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