Obama defends Internet, phone surveillance programs

At an appearance in California, President Obama defended National Security Agency programs that gather data from U.S. phone and Internet companies, saying reports have been "hyped" about what the programs are allowed to do. “Nobody is listening to your telephone calls,” he said. He also said the programs have been repeatedly authorized by Congress, and that many safeguards are in place so that the information is not misused. The Washington Post reported Friday that the National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/06/07/obama-nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/