First published 2014
Following Edward Snowden's explosive revelations about NSA surveillance, President Obama faces a crisis of public trust. He commissions a team of intelligence and legal experts to investigate the scope of government spying programs and recommend reforms. The experts must navigate competing demands: protecting national security while safeguarding civil liberties. They examine massive databases containing private information about Americans and assess the risks these programs pose to democracy. The team warns that future officials might exploit this surveillance infrastructure for political purposes. Americans cannot simply trust their government with such power, they conclude. The experts craft dozens of practical recommendations to constrain surveillance activities. Their work becomes a framework for balancing security needs against constitutional rights. The report shapes international discussions about government overreach in the digital age.
Genres: history, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, government, current-affairs, academic, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: balancing-security-and-rights, government-overreach
Setting: United States
Period: 21st Century
288 pages · Kindle Edition · Princeton University Press