Over two years after Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA, the secretive agency is finally making some changes. They’re putting an end to the mass metadata surveillance of telephone communications, due to the implementation of the USA Freedom Act. The act was signed into law earlier this year, and beginning at midnight on November 29th, the NSA will have to stop the controversial program.
However, the agency’s surveillance dragnet hasn’t been neutered. The only thing that has changed is the way they collect this data. They can no longer cite article 215 of the Patriot Act, which allowed them to gather phone data on everyone without any restrictions. Now when the NSA receives a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, they can only collect data that is relevant to specific terms outlined in the warrant, and they can only investigate this information for 6 months. Alex Abdo of the ACLU is calling it a “symbolic victory, given it was the first major concession the intelligence agency had to make.”
Other Critics of the NSA, however, view the USA Freedom Act as an expansion of the NSA’s powers, rather than a hindrance. It’s only preventing the NSA from collecting a minuscule amount of data, and other executive orders are in place that allow bulk telephone data collection to continue, not to mention their broad collection of internet data, which hasn’t been addressed. For now it appears that the NSA’s latest concession is only a very tiny chink in their armor.
See Andrew Napolitano’s take on the USA Freedom Act
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Joshua Krause is a reporter, writer and researcher at The Daily Sheeple. He was born and raised in the Bay Area and is a freelance writer and author. You can follow Joshua’s reports at Facebook or on his personal Twitter. Joshua’s website is Strange Danger .
They will get rid of their mass surveillance program the same way polio was eliminated. They’ll just redefine it.
wishful thinking? surface level public babel?
w/the back door hooks and crooks built into all chips – laughable – nsa will take control of the chips if they wish – internet of things will become their own play ground – make anyone look like a chump. (not only do they record but they can upload or download at will to any chip – they all have mac addresses/ip/names all easily located)
Ever see, in the movies, that floor covered in snakes and scorpions which moves around the legs and feet of the protagonists but never disappear…thus we have the sick humans who press this fear soaked lying about terruh…cui bono cui bono cui bono?
Could the constitution be making a comeback?
NOT ON YOUR LIFE WHERE OBOOOOMASSS – the magnificent FARCE and MUSLIM – IN – CHIEF is concerned . ///////////////////////////////
OBOOOOMA wants all the ways he can to control JOHN Q. PUBLIC CITIZEN . //////////////////////
Bridge for sale.