Project Echelon: U.S. Electronic Surveillance Efforts (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
March 2, 2000 |
| Report Number |
RS20444 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Richard A. Best, Jr., Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
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 European Parliament studies 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 (NSA) 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. This report will
be updated as additional information becomes available.
