CIA selects new Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer

CIA Director John Brennan announced on April 22 that Benjamin Huebner has been selected to serve as the CIA’s next Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer (PCLO). The PCLO will serve as an independent, primary advisor to the CIA Director and other senior Agency officials to ensure that all CIA’s missions, programs, activities, policies, and technologies protect privacy and civil liberties.

While the PCLO position and the duties it entails are not new to CIA, in the past the position has been occupied by a senior officer who had other CIA responsibilities as well. CIA has decided to create a full-time PCLO to strengthen the Agency’s consideration of privacy and civil liberties in carrying out its mission.

In addition to fulfilling requirements established by statute, regulation and policy, Huebner will be CIA’s primary liaison with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) and will serve as the designated CIA Senior Agency Official for Privacy as well as the Information Sharing Environment Privacy Official. He will also act as the lead CIA officer for implementing the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community issued in 2015 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Huebner, who will begin his duties on 16 May, brings deep and relevant experience to this assignment. He comes to CIA from the Department of Justice, where he served as the Counsel for Intelligence to the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division, advising Department leaders on intelligence-related matters, including intelligence operations, litigation and oversight. In particular, he has extensive experience developing and managing oversight programs related to intelligence collection conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

With Huebner’s help, CIA will continue to achieve its critical national security objectives while protecting the privacy and civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and federal law.

Source: CIA