The bulk collection of Americans' phone records may be ready for some change as President Barack Obama suggested that he wanted to ease the public's concern about their privacy, the Agence France-Presse reported.
Decisions about the National Security Agency's collection programs have not yet been made, said Obama Friday at an end-of-year news conference.
But among the dozens of recommendations he's considering, Obama hinted that he may strip the NSA of its ability to store data in its own facilities and instead shift that storage to private phone companies, AFP reported.
Obama's hint at concessions comes in the wake of a federal judge declaring the bulk collection program unconstitutional this week. A presidential advisory panel that included intelligence experts also suggested reforms.
Both confirmed little evidence existed that any terror plot had been thwarted by the program, according to AFP. For every phone call made in the U.S., the bulk collection program sweeps up what's known as metadata. It collects the number called, the number from which the call is made and the duration and time of the call.
"There are ways we can do it, potentially, that gives people greater assurance that there are checks and balances - that there's sufficient oversight and sufficient transparency," Obama said.
Programs like the bulk collection of phone records "could be redesigned in ways that give you the same information when you need it without creating these potentials for abuse."
Due to public outrage over the government's vast surveillance, 46 recommendations have been suggested by the advisory panel, AFP reported.
The need for the program is for national security, said Obama. No abuse of the information collected and stored on Americans has taken place.
He said he would make an announcement about these programs in January.
"I have confidence in the fact that the NSA is not engaging in domestic surveillance or snooping around," Obama said, adding that he understands the potential for abuse can change as technologies evolve. "We may have to refine this further to give people more confidence. And I'm going to be working very hard on doing that."
