NSA Shines Light on Importance of Transparency and Accountability

Sunshine Week is in full swing across the federal government, and the National Security Agency (NSA) is taking the time to recognize and reaffirm Agency values of transparency and accountability.

A time to acknowledge and celebrate transparency in the federal government, Sunshine Week was created 18 years ago by the American Society of News Editors, now known as the News Leaders Association. Freedom of Information Day was also celebrated this week on 16 March. Speaking at the Agency’s Privacy Day event last year, GEN Paul M. Nakasone, Commander, U.S. Cyber Command, Director, NSA/Chief, CSS, explained that transparency is always a work in progress: “NSA has had a history of strength, civil liberties, and privacy protections in daily operations and has made great strides in being more transparent about what we do.”

NSA’s Civil Liberties, Privacy, and Transparency (CLPT) Office is key to the Agency’s promotion and integration of civil liberties and privacy protections into everything NSA does: policies, plans, procedures, technology, programs, and activities.

At the head of the CLPT Office is Acting Director Thomas D. “T.D.” Stuck, who said he’s always asking, “How can we be more effective in our transparency?” It’s more than just providing information, too: “It’s giving the context of what we’re doing so that the public can have a sense of how information fits into the broader sense of why there is a National Security Agency,” Stuck said.

Transparency and accountability go hand in hand. Ultimately, Stuck underlined, “We’re accountable to the American people.”

Learn more about the CLPT Office by watching a video or exploring their webpage.

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