Judge rules NSA's phone data collection program is legal, tosses A

[Guest]

A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. National Security Agency's bulk phone record metadata collection efforts are legal, turning aside a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union brought against the agency.

 

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[crp]

omg, from the article

While the collection program "vacuums up information about virtually every call to, from, or within the United States," it also allows the NSA to "detect relationship so attenuated and ephemeral they would otherwise escape notice," Judge William Pauley III wrote in his 54-page decision filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Overall, the metadata collection serves as the U.S. government's "counter-punch: connecting fragmented and fleeting communications to re-construct and eliminate Al-Qaeda's terror network," Pauley wrote.

There also is "no evidence that the Government has used any of the bulk telephony metadata it collected for any purpose other than investigating and disrupting terrorist attacks," he added. "While there have been unintentional violations of guidelines, those appear to stem from human error and the incredibly complex computer programs that support this vital tool."

It is scary to me that a federal judge actually wrote this.

Give a private investigator all the metadata from your cell phone, lets see how complete he could reconstruct your day as to where you were and who you talked - and even what was talked about.

 

Doesn't the statement of the data being useless in paragraph 2 contradict what he wrote in paragraph 1 about how useful it is?

 

And let me get this straight: since this collection is a 'vital tool' any violations that appear to be of human error get tossed out the window. So since screening at airports are deemed 'vital tools' , inspectors can deny you access solely based on human judgement. As can police officers at the 'vital tool' of using random stops and dui checks.

 

ugh.

[goretsky]

Hello,

 

The ACLU is planning on filing an appeal, aren't they?

 

Regards,

 

Aryeh Goretsky

 

[ross549]

The district court ruling paves the way to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court level.

 

Adam

[Guest LilBambi]

As well it should!