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Last summer, at the direction of the Director of National Intelligence, the Civil Liberties and Privacy Office updated its name and became the Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy and Transparency. This change reflects the ODNI's ongoing commitment to providing appropriate transparency to the public.

 

 As reflected by the 2015 rollout of the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community, the IC is committed to enhancing transparency in a credible, coordinated and sustainable manner. "We believe transparency is worth the cost," said former DNI James R. Clapper in 2015. "Because if the American people don't understand what we're doing, why it's important and how we're protecting their privacy and civil liberties, we will lose their confidence and that will affect our ability to perform our mission -- which ultimately serves them."

 

Both transparency and the protection of civil liberties and privacy are critical for earning and retaining public trust. This made the decision to incorporate transparency into the existing civil liberties and privacy office a natural one.

 

Alex Joel is the Chief of the Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy and Transparency. In that capacity, he continues to serve as the "Civil Liberties Protection Officer," a position specifically defined in statute. In addition, Joel is designated as the ODNI's Chief Transparency Officer. In this role, he chairs the Transparency Council, which includes representatives from across the IC and coordinates the implementation of transparency initiatives.