After all of the upset amongst world leaders and even US citizens, the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of data on nearly ever phone call made in the United States was deemed legal by a federal judge on Friday.
This is a much better ruling for the NSA, as opposed to last week’s ruling, which called the phone collection program likely unconstitutional.
According to CNN, U.S. District Judge William Pauley said that while the NSA’s program under Section 215 of the Patriot Act has become the center of controversy since it was revealed by leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, it is legal.
“No doubt, the bulky telephony metadata collection program vacuums up information about virtually every telephone call to, from, or within the United States,” the judge wrote.
But he added: “As the September 11th attacks demonstrate, the cost of missing such a thread can be horrific. Technology allowed Al Qaeda to operate decentralized and plot international terrorist attacks remotely. The bulky telephone metadata collection program represents the Government’s counter-punch: connecting fragmented and fleeting communications to re-construct and eliminate al-Qaeda’s terror network.”
