U.S. privacy board says NSA Internet spying program is effective but worrying

Wed Jul 2, 2014 6:04am EDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA)'s data collection program has been an effective tool to enhance the country's security but some elements of the cyber-spying raises privacy concerns, a U.S. federal privacy watchdog said in a report.

Privacy issues have become a hot topic since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed the spy agency's phone and Internet spying programs.

But the program has allowed the government to collect a greater range of foreign intelligence "quickly and effectively," the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board said in a report released on Wednesday.

It added, however, that certain aspects of the program raise questions about whether its impact on U.S. persons pushes it over the edge into "constitutional unreasonableness".

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