Is Obama's proposal to end NSA bulk collection of phone records really a privacy win?
A White House senior official said President Obama will call for an end to NSA bulk collection and storage of phone records. The Obama administration wants phone companies, not the NSA, to be responsible for storing bulk phone record metadata and for quickly handing over retained records if the government supplies a new type of surveillance court order. But does that actually mean that millions of people's digital communications, phone conversations, will no longer be under permanent mass surveillance just in case the government needs to track a suspected terrorist?
The New York Times reported that the Obama administration will ask the FISA court to renew the NSA bulk phone records program for "at least one more 90-day cycle." Officials said the government wants a new type of surveillance court order that would require phone companies to quickly hand over records in a "technologically compatible data format, including making available, on a continuing basis, data about any new calls placed or received after the order is received." The government could also "seek related records for callers up to two phone calls, or 'hops,' removed from the number that has come under suspicion, even if those callers are customers of other companies."
The NSA stored phone records for five years, but phone companies will store the data for 18 months; that's the same period of time as current storage requirements, yet there's a sneaking suspicion that phone companies may increase our bills and actually pass the cost of spying on us to us.
At first blush, Obama's proposal may seem like a baby step in the right direction; however it could be construed as a step toward legalizing mass surveillance. NYT's Charlie Savage added, "The administration's proposal would also include a provision clarifying whether Section 215 of the Patriot Act, due to expire next year unless Congress reauthorizes it, may in the future be legitimately interpreted as allowing bulk data collection of telephone data."
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/obamas-proposal-end-nsa-bulk-collection-phone-records-really-privacy-win
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