I just read in the Wall Street Journal about the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB). I doubt if most citizens even knew it existed. However it is in the "hot seat" now! Here's info from Wikipedia: Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:. It is pretty clear that the PCLOB is pretty much overwhelmed with their responsibility and limited resources available to them. See this blog: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/07/a_problem_with.html Yeah, terrorism is one of the worse invasions of privacy and civil liberties -- however we shouldn't just give "carte blanch" to our defense & police agencies. It is important to strike a balance.
Yes, all of the agencies should be required to publish a plan for how they handle privacy and civil liberties. The plan should be updated every 4 or 5 years --that is eternity in compared to our technology revolution. The "top level" plans should be unclassified. However the agencies can have classified plans that are "consistent" with the top level plan. Those top and second level plans should be reviewed by the PCLOB, and at least one committee from Congress and the Senate as well as being approved by the Attorney General.
Then, the agencies should be held to following their plans. They should be audited by their own inspector general, and have sample inspections done by the Attorney General and the GAO.
The PCLOB should have it's staff beefed up to be able to handle this responsibility. It should also be required to publish a report to Congress, at least every two years, that describes the status of the agencies in writing their plans, getting them approved and how well they are actually following their own plans
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