Topic: Becky Richards

Becky Richards has been appointed as the first Civil Liberties and Privacy Officer for the NSA. Previously a privacy director at the Department of Homeland Security, Richards is tasked with advising the agency on building privacy considerations into its operations, though critics view the role as purely for public relations.

In an interview, Becky Richards claims that compliance is "in the veins" of NSA employees. She describes her job as "translating" the agency's privacy protections for the public, which the hosts interpret as a deceptive effort to rebrand mass surveillance as a service that protects freedom.

Becky Richards states that it may take up to five years to "comfortably demonstrate" the NSA's privacy protections. An investigation into her background via LinkedIn reveals a career spent entirely within government bureaucracy at DHS and the NSA, leading the hosts to label her a "spook."