NSA ends bulk collection of phone data

The NSA headquarters at Fort Meade (Credit: Wikipedia)

The U.S. intelligence community has put a stop to bulk collection of telephone metadata, moving instead to a more “focused and targeting” approach to surveillance activities.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the decision to suspend the controversial metadata collection program comes more than two years after Edward Snowden, former National Security Agency contractor, leaked details about the extent of the feds’ surveillance. It also comes after President Obama in June signed a measure that removed the NSA’s authorities to collect the bulk phone records on millions of Americans not even suspected of crimes or terror plots.

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Supporters of the program say its halt will compromise Americans’ safety and security at a time of rising terror threats. They also say the brouhaha over the data collection was unfounded because feds were never given access to the content of calls, but rather only the times of calls, the numbers involved, and the length of conversations.

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Critics of the program said it dinged the Fourth Amendment and citizens’ constitutionally protected rights to privacy and the ability to be secure in person and possession. Critics also said the data collection didn’t actually give the government solid counterterrorim intelligence, and was therefore largely needless.

CNN reported the NSA has asked for limited access to metadata it’s already collected until Feb. 29, 2016. The Foreign Surveillance Court is reportedly considering the request.

 

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