Tweet
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is asking Congress to pass new privacy laws that would add more safeguards for Americans' data and provide more protections for emails sought in the course of a law enforcement investigation.
The recommendations are among six offered by President Barack Obama's counselor John Podesta in a report released Thursday. While large sets of data make Americans' lives easier and can help save lives, the report noted, they also could be used to discriminate against Americans in areas such as housing and employment.
[....]
Obama has called for changes to some of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs that amass large amounts of data belonging to Americans and foreigners. The technology that enabled the surveillance programs also enables other programs used by the government and the private sector, such as data on financial records, health care systems and social media. The White House separately has reviewed the NSA programs and proposed changes to rein in the massive collection of Americans' phone records and emails.
"The president, of course, recognized that big-data technologies had to be having an impact elsewhere in government — in the economy and in society," Podesta said Thursday.
