Number: RS20444
Title: PROJECT ECHELON: U.S. ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE EFFORTS
Authors: Richard A. Best, Jr., Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division 
Abstract: Last year Congress passed legislation (P.L. 106-120, Section 309) requiring that the Executive Branch report on the legal standards for electronic surveillance by U.S. intelligence agencies. This action followed press reports and A European Parliament study claiming that the National Security Agency (NSA) has established a world-wide signals collection effort, known as Project Echelon, that jeopardizes the privacy rights of individuals and unfairly provides commercial advantage to U.S. firms. There has been no official U.S. confirmation of the existence of Project Echelon, but the responsibilities of the National Security Agency for signals intelligence (sigint) are widely known and reflected in statutory law and executive orders. Although there is no evidence that NSA has undertaken illegal sigint operations, some observers, in the U.S. as well as abroad, argue that electronic surveillance efforts, even if sanctioned by domestic laws, undercut universally guaranteed human rights. Others counter that a robust signals intelligence is essential to protect the nation and its allies against hostile foreign governments, terrorists, and narcotics traffickers.
Pages: 6
Date: Updated March 2, 2000