President Obama has unveiled his long-awaited review of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs over six months since Edward Snowden exposed them to global scrutiny. In a move criticized by privacy advocates, Obama refused to end the bulk collection of telephone metadata, saying only he will modify it from “how it currently exists.”

President Obama: “I am therefore ordering a transition that will end the Section 215 bulk metadata program as it currently exists, and establish a mechanism that preserves the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk metadata. This will not be simple.”

Under Obama’s proposal, NSA officials would require court orders to access calling records, except in cases of emergency. But it will be up to the Justice Department and Congress to work out the details. In his remarks, Obama also pledged to stop the spying on foreign leaders and to increase privacy protections for foreign citizens overseas.

President Obama: “Now let me be clear: Our intelligence agencies will continue to gather information about the intentions of governments — as opposed to ordinary citizens — around the world, in the same way that the intelligence services of every other nation does. We will not apologize simply because our services may be more effective. But heads of state and government, with whom we work closely and on whose cooperation we depend, should feel confident that we are treating them as real partners. And the changes I’ve ordered do just that.”