U.S. Stops Snowden-Exposed Collecting Of Phone Metadata, Irking Security Hawks

[Purveyor]

Source: Japan Times



WASHINGTON – The U.S. government has halted its controversial program to collect vast troves of information from Americans’ phone calls, a move prompted by the revelations of former intelligence analyst Edward Snowden.

Privacy advocates and some tech firms are welcoming the end of the bulk gathering of so-called metadata, but some security hawks fear law enforcement will be hampered in their efforts to thwart terror attacks.

As of Sunday, the National Security Agency (NSA) ended the program whose existence its former analyst Snowden revealed in 2013.

U.S. lawmakers earlier this year passed legislation known as the USA Freedom Act to stop the program and roll back some powers the NSA had gained under the Patriot Act in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/12/01/world/crime-legal-world/u-s-stops-snowden-exposed-collecting-phone-metadata-irking-security-hawks/#.Vl0KaeJuonk

[uhnope]

1. you mean the evil USA actually has a democratic process that responded to a national debate?

I bet Snowden wishes he lived in such a place lol

[Purveyor]

19. You're not very good at this are you? eom

[onehandle]

2. Anyone who thinks this program isn't continuing underground is fooling themselves.

All Snowden did was make security agencies better at covering their tracks.

His reward: A lifetime of Russian winters.

[JoePhilly]

4. The perpetually disgruntled stay that way.

Film at 11.

[Rotegard]

8. Actually Easier than the ones here in Minnesota

Still a shock after winters in Hawaii.

[Skittles]

12. OMG

I am still traumatized by having to use an outhouse in Minnesota in January

[cstanleytech]

9. Well yes but its changed in that the phone companies are the ones going to be

keeping the data now and the government is going to be required to get a warrant now to run a trace on a phone which imo is an improvement.

[hughee99]

11. If FISA judges hand out warrants like halloween candy,

then it's not really much of a difference.

[cstanleytech]

15. Its a step hugh and an important one and hopefully one day the government will not

need to have access to this information at all, probably wont be within my lifetime of course but I have hope it will happen one day.

[hughee99]

18. I'm not against it, but with warrants so easy to get, and the fact that this was done, basically,

voluntarily, my concern is that the next administration and congress will sneak it back in.

In the end, what I suspect will happen is that the NSA will create an organization (not officially part of the NSA) that will sell "cloud storage" which these companies will end up using and we'll be, in essence, paying the NSA to keep all sorts of private data on all of us. Since the company (or companies) would be able to pay for itself, it won't show up on congressional funding anywhere and they'll be no oversight.

[JoePhilly]

3. So that bastard Obama did what now??

[Skittles]

13. you really only care how it reflects on Obama?

seriously?

[riderinthestorm]

5. Wait, I've been told by DUers that this program was great, legal

everyone Knew about it already, old hat and harmless...

Why are they stopping such a legit, excellent, necessary program then?

[uhnope]

6. thank you for finding the most hilariously biased article on this important news

the Kremlin couldn't do any better. Oh, wait...

[newfie11]

7. Yeah right

And a leopard changes spots.

[AzDar]

10. Edward Snowden is a Patriot...

[grasswire]

14. thank you Edward Snowden.

We are forever indebted.

[840high]

16. ....x10+

[elias49]

17. Yes. Thank you Edward Snowden. nt

[NotHardly]

20. Sure they did ... and I got a nice little bridge to sell you's in New Jersey..

... so, still believing everything they post on the intertubes I see.

[Helen Borg]

21. It only means...

That now the same is occurring under another classified program name.