Snooping reports' pileup problem

Could surveillance reform succumb to death by a thousand blue-ribbon panels? That’s what some are fearing as bookshelves in congressional offices, lobbying suites and newsrooms across Washington begin to sag with the accumulation of snooping-related reports and recommendations unveiled since Edward Snowden’s stunning disclosures last June about widespread National Security Agency gathering of US telephone data.

The White House added two more studies to the growing stack May 1: assessments of the risks and dangers inherent in collection and mining of so-called “big data” by both government and the private sector. One writeup came from Obama advisers and Cabinet officials like counselor John Podesta, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. Another came from a 20-member council of outside experts on technology issues. The teeming pile of reports stands in contrast to the few tangible signs of legislative progress on many of the issues the various boards have focused on. That disconnect is fueling concerns in some quarters that there’s plenty of diagnosing going on and, so far, little in the way of treatment.