CIA finally implementing new rules to protect Americans’ privacy
Washington — On Wednesday the CIA said it would implement new rules to better respect the private information of Americans swept up incidentally during its investigations. The new restrictions imposed by the US attorney-general just two days before Donald Trump become president will force the CIA, whose mission is to focus on foreign issues and threats, to dispose of the personal data of Americans it comes across during its probes within five years. Until now, under a 1981 executive order by then president Ronald Reagan, there were loose restrictions on how the spy agency handles that data, and existing rules never considered the avalanche of personal information that can be scooped up from the internet and social media. The CIA is supposed to limit its investigations to foreign targets, but given the global nature of telecommunications and the internet, and the enormous electronic combing of that data, it inevitably gathers up data on US citizens as well. For instance, the CIA note...
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