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'No alternative' to US bulk spying programme

Washington - No existing technology can fully replace collecting data in bulk to obtain electronic intelligence, but some methods could be developed to improve how information is gathered and used, the US National Research Council said in a report on Thursday.

The report, sponsored by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, was in response to US President Barack Obama's call in 2014 for a review of potential software-based alternatives to the controversial programme.

"There are no technical alternatives that can accomplish the same functions as bulk collection and serve as a complete substitute for it; there is no technological magic," the report said.

The programme came to light following explosive revelations in 2013 by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that the US government was collecting and storing bulk telephone records of calls made to and from US citizens.

NSA eavesdroppers collected only so-called "metadata" - the time, length and phone numbers of the calls - and not actual content.

Civil liberties concerns

Intelligence officials maintain that collecting telephone metadata in bulk is critical to US counter-terrorism efforts.

However, a blue-ribbon panel set up by Obama following Snowden's revelations reported it could find no evidence that sweeping collection of the telephone metadata of Americans led to a single major counter-terrorism breakthrough.

The National Research Council report focused on the technology of all types of electronic communication and not just domestic telephone metadata.

"A choice to eliminate all forms of bulk collection would have costs in intelligence capabilities," Council researchers, who came from universities across the country and top technology companies such as Google and IBM, said in the report.

They did say, however, that it might be possible in some cases to develop techniques that improve targeting and provide a viable substitute for bulk collection.

The report also said some methods could be developed to help allay privacy and civil liberties concerns.

It suggested approaches such as automated systems for isolating data, restricting queries relating to the information and auditing its use.

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