Civil Liberties and Privacy Protections

NSA strives to build public trust in our ability to uphold civil liberties and privacy values through transparency.

Overview

As a member of the nation's Intelligence Community, NSA is held accountable for upholding the laws of the land while providing critical foreign intelligence information to keep America and its allies safe and secure. As part of this, NSA is required by law to protect the freedoms, civil liberties, and privacy rights of Americans while accomplishing important national security missions.

Leadership

NSA’s Civil Liberties, Privacy, & Transparency (CLPT) Office director is the primary advisor on the protection of civil liberties and privacy to NSA senior leadership. This advisor represents NSA's interests in the privacy arena by engaging with key stakeholders, overseers, the private sector, and the public to better understand their concerns. In this role, the CLPT director serves as the lead for promoting and integrating civil liberties and privacy protections into NSA policies, plans, procedures, technology, programs, and activities. As rules and oversight evolve over time, having a single official who is dedicated to these issues helps NSA stay on top of changes and bring new perspectives on how best to consider civil liberties and privacy while conducting mission work.

CLPT Reports

NSA releases reports in accordance with the law to promote transparency of our mission activities.

CLPT Documents

These core reports and documents guide NSA in our civil liberties and privacy work.

CLPT Resources

Various resources and partners support our privacy and civil liberties work.