LEAD: Snowden praises Obama’s NSA reform proposal

The Hague, March 26:

Intelligence leaker Edward Snowden late Tuesday hailed proposed reforms that would provide more privacy safeguards in how the US electronic intelligence organisation collects telephone metadata.

This is a turning point, and it marks the beginning of a new effort to reclaim our rights from the (National Security Agency) and restore the publics seat at the table of Government, Snowden said in a statement, issued from Moscow via the American Civil Liberties Union.

Earlier, US President Barack Obama said he had received a workable proposal for intelligence reforms.

Answering reporters questions at a summit in the Netherlands, Obama said the proposed changes and new safeguards which must still be adopted by Congress would satisfy the main concerns about privacy that have been raised since Snowdens revelations last year.

The proposal, according to The New York Times, would end the NSAs systematic collection of data about Americans calling habits and leave the bulk records in the hands of telephone companies.

It ensures that the Government is not in possession of that bulk data, said Obama in The Hague.

He did not reveal full details of the proposal.

Obama said the reforms would make sure that not only is a judge overseeing the overall programme, but also that a judge is looking at each individual inquiry made into a database. Under the current system, the NSA was given a free hand by a secret court to search the metadata records it had gathered from telephone companies without the need for a judges approval for every search.

Im confident (the proposal) allows us to do what is necessary about the dangers of a terrorist attack... but does so in a way that addresses some of the concerns that people have raised, Obama said.

Originally posted here:
LEAD: Snowden praises Obama’s NSA reform proposal