He said court approval would now be required for telephone taps, and no eavesdropping would be conducted on allied leaders. Court approval, however, would not be sought or required to seek information from companies on individuals. Here are some other highlights from the president's speech, as reported by The New York Times.
- Intelligence agencies will only pursue phone calls that are two steps removed from a number associated with a terrorist organization.
- Attorney General Eric H. Holder will work with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court so that intelligence agencies can only access the existing database in an emergency or with a court order.
- Holder will make recommendations as to who or what will hold the storehouse of phone metadata.
- Obama did not address the issue of creating back doors in software or otherwise tampering with U.S. manufactured hardware, a practice which has hurt U.S. sales of computer equipment.