SurveillanceHouse overwhelmingly votes for overhauling NSA phone metadata bulk collection program
The House yesterday voted overwhelmingly to ban the bulk collection of American phone metadata, as lawmakers increase the pressure to reform one of the more controversial data collection programs of the National Security Agency (NSA). The program was revealed as a result of Edward Snowden’s leaks. The House voted 338-88 in favor of the USA Freedom Act — the second time the House has voted for a more restrictive data collection scheme. Supporters of surveillance reform are more confident that there will be a majority in the Senate to support a similar measure. The House bill has already gained the support of the White House and the intelligence community. The Senate does not have much time, as the Patriot Act – which includes Section 215 which governs the NSA surveillance program – expires at the end of the month. Leading civil liberties organizations, however, have criticized the bill as not going far enough.
The House yesterday voted overwhelmingly to ban the bulk collection of American phone metadata, as lawmakers increase the pressure to reform one of the more controversial data collection programs of the National Security Agency (NSA).
The program was revealed as a result of Edward Snowden’s leaks.
The House voted 338-88 in favor of the USA Freedom Act — the second time the House has voted for a more restrictive data collection scheme.
The New York Times reports that this time, supporters of surveillance reform are more confident that there will be a majority in the Senate to support a similar measure. The House bill has already gained the support of the White House, intelligence community, and a U.S. federal appeals court.
Leading civil liberties organizations, however, have criticized the bill as not going far enough.
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See also:
Court rules NSA bulk metadata collection exceeded Patriot Act’s Section 215, 8 May 2015
NSA accepts proposed Congressional curbs on bulk data collection, 6 May 2015
FBI, NSA want surveillance measures to remain in reauthorized Patriot Act, 16 April 2015
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The Senate does not have much time, as the Patriot Act – which includes Section 215 which governs the NSA surveillance program – expires at the end of the month.
Under the current program, the NSA collects millions of Americans’ phone records from U.S. phone companies, stores them in a database and, with a judge’s authorization, searches on numbers which analysts reasonably suspect are linked to a foreign terrorist group.
Under the USA Freedom Act, the phone metadata — that is, records of phone numbers, call dates, times, and durations — would be retained by telecommunications companies, not by the government. These records could still be searched by the NSA under a court order specifying a “selection term” which identifies a particular person, account, or address — not an entire phone or Internet company, or a broad geographic region, such as a state, city, or Zip code.
The legislation also bars permitting bulk collection of records using other tools like so-called national security letters, which are a kind of administrative subpoena.
The Guardian notes that Senate Republican leaders have insisted the bulk data collection program should be renewed in its current form, but admit they may not have the votes to do so.
