Ex- judge urges US lawmakers against proposed changes to NSA

As US President Barack Obama is just a day away from formally announcing the long-debated changes to the controversial operations of the National Security Agency, a former judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has reportedly urged lawmakers to go easy with the changes.

The ex-judge and current director of the Administrative Office of the US Court Judge John D. Bates has written a letter to several lawmakers, saying that some of the proposed changes would hinder the operations of the secret court.

According to Cnet, the proposed changes, as charted by the White House appointed committee, include recommendations to limit spying on ally governments, stop the NSA's storage of telephone record data of US citizens, and increase controls on the FISA court.

Bates said that he was concerned with the recommendation of giving public more information about the FISA's rulings apart from creation of a public advocate to independently intervene in the court's cases.

The former judge pointed that releasing court opinions with redacted could lead to confusion and misunderstanding among the general public.

Bates expressed hope in his letter that any changes would both enhance national security and provide appropriate respect and protection for privacy and civil-liberties interests, the report added.

Following the major revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the NSA's activities have come under world scanner and global leaders as well as the public has pushed the US government to amend its rules governing the mass surveillance operations.