White House Officially ‘Terminates’ Democratic Privacy Board Members
The White House “terminated” the three Democrats on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, the board confirmed in a statement Monday (see 2501220062 and 2501240009).
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Chair Sharon Bradford Franklin and members Ed Felten and Travis LeBlanc were removed from their positions “as of 5 p.m. last Thursday,” the statement read. Media reports last week said the three were told to resign or be fired.
After confirming the removals, the board's statement said, “The agency, however, has significant ability to continue functioning with its full staff and remaining Member Beth Williams to continue the Board's important mission, including its advice and oversight functions, and its current projects. The Board looks forward to moving ahead on additional projects formally following the nomination, confirmation, and appointment of new Members.”
The PCLOB is an independent watchdog on government surveillance. LeBlanc, in a statement, said the board’s independence is “crucial to ensuring that the President, Congress, and the public receive honest, expert, and complete information about the nation’s most highly classified programs and activities.” He regrets that “the Board’s partisan shift will ultimately undermine not only the mission of the agency, but public trust and confidence in the ability of the government to honor privacy rights, respect civil liberties, honestly inform the public, and follow the law.”
The White House didn’t comment.
“This decision is bad for privacy, bad for personal freedoms, and bad for businesses,” said Center for Democracy & Technology CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens in a statement.