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NSA reportedly planning to declassify details on secret surveillance programs

NSA reportedly planning to declassify details on secret surveillance programs

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More details about PRISM may be coming — but this time, from the NSA itself. Reuters reports that the US National Security Agency is planning to declassify documents that will shed light on the broad surveillance programs that whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked to the public in June. It's unclear exactly what programs the government is apparently planning to detail, but some of the documents are expected to include information on the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

A distinct attempt for transparency

Reuters reports that the documents could be declassified by next week. According to CNN, the documents could also reveal the federal government's arguments for why its secret data collection efforts should be expanded beyond phone metadata and on to the communication's actual content. The NSA's regular collection of phone metadata came to light shortly before the PRISM leaks, which detailed the agency's wide collection of data from the web.

The declassifications are apparently part of an effort by NSA director James Clapper to be more transparent about the agency's operations. Clapper and the NSA have come under fire in light of the extensive leaks, leading some to the impression that lawmakers were uninformed about what the organization was actually doing. Since then there have been continued suggestions that the federal government is planning to declassify key documents regarding surveillance, however that's yet to happen.