Court says it’s legal for NSA to spy on you because Congress says it’s OK "An abrupt end to the program would be contrary to the public interest...."


Court says it’s legal for NSA to spy on you because Congress says it’s OK

"An abrupt end to the program would be contrary to the public interest...."



You gotta love this twisted logic.

In May, a federal appeals court declared the National Security Agency's bulk telephone metadata collection program illegal because it wasn't authorized under the Patriot Act, as the Obama administration and its predecessor administration had maintained.

Then, in June, Congress semi-dismantled the program with the passage of the USA Freedom Act, which President Obama signed on June 2. As part of the new act, Congress authorized a spying transition period of sorts where the old tactics could continue until new laws were in place.

But on Thursday, the same federal appeals court that originally declared it "illegal" now said the original NSA program could continue, beating back a challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union that questioned both the transition period and the constitutionality of NSA surveillance overall.

In case you've forgotten, here's what is at stake: Under the program that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden disclosed, the nation's telecoms forward data to the National Security Agency, including the phone numbers of both parties in all calls, calling card numbers, the length and time of the calls, and the international mobile subscriber identity (ISMI) number for mobile callers. The NSA keeps a running database of that information. The NSA says it queries the data solely to combat terrorism and that one party of a call must be believed to have been overseas.

So how could something so seemingly unconstitutional continue? Congress said it could, that's how.

With the passage of the USA Freedom Act, Congress extended the program that Snowden exposed for another six months to allow for an orderly transition to the new snooping program. And now the courts essentially maintain that the original surveillance is legal because Congress says it's legal.

"An abrupt end to the program would be contrary to the public interest in effective surveillance of terrorist threats, and Congress thus provided a 180-day transition period," 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Gerard Lynch wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel. "Under the circumstances, we will defer to that reasonable decision."

This matters because whether the NSA, lawmakers, or the administration will construe some other law to allow the original, secret bulk collection program to continue is anybody's guess. Meanwhile, although the original spy program as disclosed by Snowden has been dramatically altered by Congress, there will continue to be a lot of authorized warrantless phone spying done by the NSA on Americans after the six-month extension expires.

Under the new legislation, the bulk phone metadata will stay with the telecoms and will be removed from the NSA's hands. It can still be accessed with the secret FISA Court's blessing as long as the government asserts that it has a reasonable suspicion that the phone data of a target is relevant to a terror investigation and at least one party to the call is overseas. The Constitution's Fourth Amendment standard of probable cause still does not apply.

David Kravets / The senior editor for Ars Technica. Founder of TYDN fake news site. Technologist. Political scientist. Humorist. Dad of two boys. Been doing journalism for so long I remember manual typewriters with real paper.


Views: 87

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
23 hours ago
Doc Vega posted photos
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Ashrams and Moonies Perfect Case for Mind Control

 In the late 60’s and into the 70’s we saw a strange phenomenon emerge! That was the rise of cults…See More
Friday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Modern Progress

 From some things you just can’t come backNot everyone has your backIt might just be a nuclear…See More
Thursday
Bob of the Family Renner favorited tjdavis's photo
Thursday
Less Prone favorited Sandy's discussion Sick sci-fi sex fantasy written by Epstein's first benefactor people say inspired his twisted island... before author's SON ended up arresting him
Thursday
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

Now Playing

"They sure as hell are! "
Wednesday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Plausible Explanation Behind Recent Cryptid Sightings in the Wild!
"cheeki kea, yes they have already produced a Wooly Mammoth by crossing DNA from frozen remains in…"
Wednesday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's photo
Wednesday
Less Prone favorited Bob of the Family Renner's photo
Wednesday
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's photo
Wednesday
Less Prone left a comment for Misteri
"Welcome back!"
Wednesday
tjdavis posted blog posts
Wednesday
tjdavis posted photos
Wednesday
tjdavis posted a video

The Inversion: The 'Sentient World Simulation' (SWS)

Kingsley L. Dennis discussing subjects from his new book - 'The Inversion: How We Have Been Tricked into Perceiving a False Reality' (published September 26,...
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Major Technical Developments in 1960 and a Major CIA Disclosure

 In 1960, there were some very significant changes in science, flight research, and oceanography…See More
Aug 18
Doc Vega's 5 blog posts were featured
Aug 18
Less Prone favorited Doc Vega's blog post The Saga of Joe Adams May Have Solved What's Behind the Numerous Disappearances Going on in our National Forests
Aug 18
Zfort Group posted a blog post
Aug 18
Misteri joined Central Scrutinizer's group
Aug 18

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted