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美参议院就监听电话计划举行听证

Top U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials say the government’s vast domestic data collection activities do not infringe¹ on citizens’ privacy but do help identify and defeat terrorist threats. Officials testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee hours after the Obama administration released documents detailing telephone data collection programs exposed by former intelligence contractor² Edward Snowden.

美国情报和执法部门的最高官员说，政府大量收集国内电话记录的做法并没有侵犯到公民的隐私，但是对识别和打击恐怖威胁确实有帮助。在奥巴马政府公布了前情报部门合同工斯诺登泄露的详细说明电话数据收集计划的文件之后几个小时，有关官员在参议院司法委员会的听证会上作出上述表示。

Revelations that the U.S. government collects telephone records have unnerved many Americans, according to committee chairman Patrick Leahy.

参议院司法委员会主席帕特里克?莱希说，美国政府收集民众电话记录的计划被公布之后，很多美国人感到不安。

“I think the patience of the American people is beginning to wear thin. But what has to be of more concern in a democracy is the trust of the American people is wearing thin," he said.

莱希说：“我认为美国人民的耐心正开始逐渐消失，但是作为一个民主社会，更应该担心的是美国人民的信任正在消磨殆尽。”

Wednesday, the Obama administration released previously-classified documents on the extent and limitations of federal telephone snooping.

奥巴马政府星期三公布了有关联邦部门电话侦听的范围和局限性的机密文件，司法部副部长詹姆斯?科尔说：

“These are telephone records maintained by the phone companies. They include the number the call was dialed from, the number the call was dialed to, the date and time of the call and the length of the call," said Deputy Attorney General James Cole. "The records do not include the names or other identifying information. They do not include cell site [cellular telephone location] or other location information, and they do not include the content of any phone calls."

“这些通讯记录是电话公司保存的，其中包括电话是从哪个号码拨出的，拨打的号码，通话的日期、时间以及长度。这些记录不包括姓名和其他认证信息，不包括移动电话的位置，也不包括任何通话内容。”

Actual monitoring of phone calls requires special court authorization³. Overall, data collection has helped defeat terrorists, according to National Security Agency Deputy Director John Inglis.

实际监听电话通话需要法庭的特别授权。国家安全局副主任约翰?英格利斯说，总体上讲，收集电话数据对美国战胜恐怖分子有帮助。

“There were 54 plots that were disrupted over the life of these two programs," he said.

英格利斯说：“这两项计划实施期间有54个阴谋被挫败了。”

The House of Representatives recently voted down a proposal to limit telephone data collection. Similarly, senators showed no inclination⁴ to terminate the programs - but did express dismay over the lack of voluntary public disclosure.

“We have a lot of good information out there that helps the American public understand these programs," said Democrat⁵ Sheldon Whitehouse. "But it all came out late. It all came out in response to a leaker [Edward Snowden]. There was no organized plan for how we rationally declassify⁶ this so that the American people can participate in the debate."

Vast data collection has a chilling effect on freedom, according to Jameel Jaffer of the American Civil Liberties Union.

但是美国公民自由联盟的贾米尔?贾费尔说，大量的信息收集给公民自由带来寒蝉效应。

“People who know the government could be monitoring their every move, their every phone call, or their every Google search will comport⁷ themselves differently. They will hesitate before visiting controversial websites. They will hesitate before joining controversial advocacy groups. They will hesitate before exercising rights that the Constitution guarantees," he said.

贾费尔说：“人们知道政府可能会监测他们的一举一动，他们的每一次电话通话，或者每一次谷歌搜索的时候，就会做出不同的表现。他们在访问一些有争议的网站之前会犹豫，在行使宪法保障的权利之前会犹豫。”

Not so, says Robert Litt, general counsel in the office of the Director of National Intelligence.

而国家情报总监办公室法律顾问罗伯特?利特尔认为并不是这样。

“Collection of this kind of telephone meta-data from the telephone companies is not a violation⁸ of anyone’s constitutional rights," he said.

利特尔说：“从电话公司收取这类通话记录并没有侵害到任何人的宪法保障的权利。”

Litt said that disclosure of the programs has damaged the government’s ability to protect the nation.

利特尔说，泄漏这些计划已经损害到政府保护国家的能力。