--- title: Why Obama Should Stop NSA Spying Before Trump Takes Office description: Modern surveillance programs would be a disaster under President Trump. Only President Obama can stop him from inheriting them. canonical: https://time.com/4565149/obama-trump-nsa-surveillance/ author: Evan Greer article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-09T21:08:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:50:42.959Z article:section: Ideas og:title: President Obama Should Stop NSA Spying Before It's Too Late og:description: Modern surveillance programs would be a disaster under President Trump og:url: https://time.com/4565149/obama-trump-nsa-surveillance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b49233c3f08494f/6988ade1ab6d77c5346abe68/gettyimages-57585409.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: FILE PHOTO NSA Compiles Massive Database Of Private Phone Calls og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Should Stop NSA Spying Before It's Too Late twitter:description: Modern surveillance programs would be a disaster under President Trump twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b49233c3f08494f/6988ade1ab6d77c5346abe68/gettyimages-57585409.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Should Shut Down the NSA's Mass Spying Before It's Too Late > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=bba7fe33-0453-41c7-97ac-a54a0a2de49f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 430,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 50.7% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Inside TIME is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=bba7fe33-0453-41c7-97ac-a54a0a2de49f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/subscribe?i=bba7fe33-0453-41c7-97ac-a54a0a2de49f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is Inside TIME? Inside TIME is a twice-weekly newsletter written by TIME Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs. It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. It reaches 430,000 subscribers with a 50.7% open rate as of August 2026. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Evan Greer](https://time.com/author/evan-greer/) ## Evan Greer Nov 9, 2016 9:08 PM UTC  This undated photo provided by the National Security Agency (NSA) shows its headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. This undated photo provided by the National Security Agency (NSA) shows its headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland. Handout—Getty Images by [Evan Greer](https://time.com/author/evan-greer/) ## Evan Greer Nov 9, 2016 9:08 PM UTC President Obama has just 71 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as our next commander-in-chief. That means he has a matter of weeks to do one thing that could help prevent the United States from veering into fascism: declassifying and [dismantling](http://www.unplugthensa.org/) as much of the federal government’s unaccountable, secretive, mass surveillance state as he can — before Trump is the one running it. During the Obama administration, warrantless spying programs have vastly expanded, giving the government more power than ever before to constantly monitor all of us by collecting our emails, texts, phone records, chats, real-time locations, purchases, and other private information en masse. This indiscriminate spying isn’t just happening in some National Security Agency bunker. It has [reportedly](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/25/at-t-is-spying-on-americans-for-profit.html) spread throughout dozens of agencies, from local police departments to the Drug Enforcement Administration, [Internal Revenue Service](https://www.aclu.org/blog/new-documents-suggest-irs-reads-emails-without-warrant), and more. Trump has repeatedly called for _more_ government surveillance. And he has made it [very](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN0Z12AS) [clear](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-idUSKCN0Z12AS) exactly how he would use such powers: to target Muslims, immigrant families, marginalized communities, political dissidents, and [journalists](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-press-threat%5Fus%5F5820e469e4b0e80b02cbe800). Our next President has shown utter disregard for the U.S. Constitution, exposing himself as an open [enemy](https://freedom.press/blog/2016/11/freedom-press-foundations-statement-donald-trump-enemy-press-freedom-winning-us) of press freedom, repeatedly saying he would ban all members of a major world religion from entering the country, and lashing out at political opponents with censorship and lawsuits that make a mockery of free speech. Let’s not forget that he has also [called](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/us/politics/donald-trump-abortion.html) for women who seek abortions to face punishment, has [boasted](http://www.democracynow.org/2016/10/10/in%5Fshocking%5Ftape%5Ftrump%5Fboasts%5Fof) about sexual assault, and is currently facing multiple court cases related to sexual harassment and abuse. The surveillance apparatus that has grown in this country since 9/11 has always been wrong. Surveillance technology, often used without a warrant, has been repeatedly [abused](https://theintercept.com/2015/07/24/documents-show-department-homeland-security-monitoring-black-lives-matter-since-ferguson/) to target specific racial, ethnic, and religious groups. The government listens in on activists from groups like Black Lives Matter to [Standing Rock](http://time.com/4548566/dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-sioux/). We’re collecting more data than we know what to do with. Experts [agree](https://theintercept.com/2015/11/17/u-s-mass-surveillance-has-no-record-of-thwarting-large-terror-attacks-regardless-of-snowden-leaks/) this information overload is not effective at stopping violent attacks. In fact, it has undermined, rather than strengthened, public safety and security. In Trump’s hands, these programs could become more dangerous than ever before. Too many of these efforts operate shrouded in secrecy, without meaningful [oversight](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/25/nsa-no-congress-oversight) from the public, the courts, or even elected officials. The precedent set by expanding executive power during the last several administrations means that Trump, and the officials he appoints, will be able to use these pervasive snooping programs for their own political ends, almost completely unrestricted, and without transparency. Mass surveillance has already had a statistically measurable [chilling](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160429/07512934314/chilling-effect-mass-surveillance-quantified.shtml) [effect](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160429/07512934314/chilling-effect-mass-surveillance-quantified.shtml) on freedom of expression. Imagine how much more harm it could do in the hands of President Trump. The future of our most basic rights and freedoms is at risk. This is exactly why unfettered government spying programs are so dangerous. No matter what their creators’ intentions may be, their use can quickly spiral out of control. The recent prosecutions of whistleblowers under the Espionage Act, which the Obama administration has normalized over the last decade, will only embolden Trump to abuse his new power to surveil, censor, and incarcerate dissenters to the fullest extent possible. The country is now counting on President Obama. This is his last chance to secure his legacy as the President who, in his final hours in office, did something extraordinary. He should shut down the NSA and related mass surveillance programs. He should physically destroy the databases where the sensitive personal information of hundreds of millions of people are illegally stored. He should release Chelsea Manning and pardon Edward Snowden. He should support [efforts](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/491) in Congress to curtail location-tracking and other dangerous data collection. He should declassify and reveal to the public any programs that he does not have the power to end. He should drag them into the light of day so we have a fighting chance of stopping them during Trump’s reign. He should bulldoze the data centers, computers and all, if he has to. He alone has the power to dismantle the U.S. surveillance state, before it falls into the wrongest of hands. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4565149/obama-trump-nsa-surveillance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4565149/obama-trump-nsa-surveillance/"},"headline":"President Obama Should Shut Down the NSA's Mass Spying Before It's Too Late","datePublished":"2016-11-09T21:08:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:42.959Z","description":"Modern surveillance programs would be a disaster under President Trump","url":"https://time.com/4565149/obama-trump-nsa-surveillance/","keywords":["Technology","Tech"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b49233c3f08494f/6988ade1ab6d77c5346abe68/gettyimages-57585409.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Evan Greer","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/evan-greer/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5b49233c3f08494f/6988ade1ab6d77c5346abe68/gettyimages-57585409.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FILE PHOTO NSA Compiles Massive Database Of Private Phone Calls","caption":"FILE PHOTO NSA Compiles Massive Database Of Private Phone Calls","creditText":"Handout—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/technology/","name":"Technology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4565149/obama-trump-nsa-surveillance/","name":"President Obama Should Shut Down the NSA's Mass Spying Before It's Too Late"}}]}] ```