Events and Press

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) has released a report detailing its multiyear review of the Terrorist Screening Dataset, commonly referred to as the Terrorist Watchlist and formerly referred to as the Terrorist Screening Database. The report notes that the Watchlist is credited by Congress and the Intelligence Community with facilitating the apprehension and arrest of known or suspected terrorists but also also identifies ways that the Watchlisting Guidance and redress procedures could be improved to better protect privacy and civil liberties.

PCLOB has released a report regarding the privacy and civil liberties impacts to U.S. persons from the use or recommended use of certain federal laws, regulations, and policies to counter threats posed by foreign racially motivated violent extremist (RMVE) organizations.

The Board has released a report detailing its review of the National Counterterrorism Center’s (NCTC) access to and handling of datasets containing non-terrorism information. The report describes NCTC’s policies and practices concerning such materials, as well as how the governing laws, regulations, and policies work in NCTC’s day-to-day activities.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) issued a statement on November 5, 2024 on PCLOB’s review under Section 3 of Executive Order 14086 (E.O. 14086) on Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities.

On March 13, 2024, the Board voted to close the Passenger Name Record (PNR) oversight project. PNRs contain sensitive information about travelers, such as onward travel, domicile details, and names and telephone numbers of domestic contacts. This project examined data ingestion, search, and retention practices used by DHS’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) related to PNRs as part of efforts to protect the U.S. from terrorism. The review examined the matching of PNR data pertaining to U.S. persons against terrorism information for screening and vetting. The review also examined the legal authorities applicable to CBP working with other federal agencies during the screening or vetting of U.S. persons and the analytic techniques applied, including any potential pattern-based targeting, queries, data-mining, and watchlist nominations. The Board worked constructively to review substantive changes to the program which reduced the privacy risk to Americans.

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) held a public forum on Thursday, July 11th on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in counterterrorism and related national security programs, and privacy and civil liberties issues associated with these uses of AI.   

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) will hold a public forum on Thursday, July 11th on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in counterterrorism and related national security programs, and privacy and civil liberties issues associated with these uses of AI. The forum, which will help the Board scope and define its oversight of AI-related issues, will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET. No registration is required to view this event, which will be livestreamed at www.pclob.gov. 

We congratulate Tyler McGaughey on his nomination. His knowledge and expertise would be a valued addition to the Board's work in ensuring that America's counterterrorism efforts are effectively balanced against the need to safeguard privacy and civil liberties. We wish him all the best in the confirmation process.

The Board will be conducting a virtual public forum on July 11th, 2024 on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in counterterrorism and related national security programs. The Board seeks public comments in advance of the forum to help inform the discussion and future deliberations. Additional details can be found here: 

1. Federal Register : Notice of a PCLOB Public Forum Examining the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Counterterrorism and Request for Public Comment

2.Comments Received In Response to Federal Register Notice

3. Separate Comment Submitted by the Center for AI and Digital Policy

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) has received approval to release an unclassified version of its December 2020 classified report on the National Security Agency’s (NSA’s) use of XKEYSCORE, an intelligence analysis tool. The agency’s Report on Certain NSA Uses of XKEYSCORE for Counterterrorism Purposes includes separate statements from each Board Member at the time the report was drafted, and the report release also includes additional related documents from the Board’s investigation. At the time the PCLOB’s oversight review was completed, the Board Members were: current Board Members Edward W. Felten and Travis LeBlanc as well as former Board Members Adam Klein (Chair), Jane Nitze, and Aditya Bamzai.