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U.S. plans to spy on citizens delayed
Civil rights groups manage to delay implementation
U.S. government plans to use U.S. spy satellites for domestic security and law-enforcement missions has been delayed by privacy and civil liberty groups expressing their concerns.
The Homeland Security Department has been trying to get a plan through that would use overhead and mapping imagery from existing satellites. Last year, senior Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee asked the department to put the program on hold until there was a clear legal framework of how the program would operate.
It has become clear that Homeland Security is having to dance around existing laws to keep the program viable. For example, it has had to agree to forbid the system to intercept verbal and written conversations. It is looking like this is proving difficult and the program is months behind actually getting the go ahead.