Snowden wins fight to block bulk collection of US phone records
Fugitive NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has won his fight to end the bulk collection of Americans’ phone records following approval of the USA Freedom Act in the Senate.
In what amounts to the most significant surveillance reform in decades the measure will obligate telecoms firms to assume responsibility for collecting such records, which may then be requested by the authorities in exceptional circumstances.
The U-turn in government policy comes just two years after Snowden began leaking classified information about America’s surveillance program to the press, shining a spotlight on how extensive such systems had become.
Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of The American Civil Liberties Union, said: “This is the most important surveillance reform bill since 1978, and its passage is an indication that Americans are no longer willing to give the intelligence agencies a blank check. It’s a testament to the significance of the Snowden disclosures and also to the hard work of many principled legislators on both sides of the aisle.”
This means that the NSA can now resume collecting such data after it scrapped the project on 31 May, although a six month ‘transition’ period specified in the Act means the NSA will have to shut-down its bulk collection program in December when telecoms firms pick up the baton.