BREAKING: NSA Phone Spying Program Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Judge

[Jewboo]

NSA Phone Spying Program Ruled Unconstitutional By Federal Judge

A federal judge ruled on Monday that the National Security Agency’s PRISM program, which collects telephone records and metadata and was revealed this summer by whistleblower Edward Snowden, could be unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon, appointed by George W. Bush, ruled that PRISM likely violates the Fourth Amendment’s ban of unreasonable search and seizure. Leon argued that the NSA’s widespread collection of telephone calls made in or to the United States represents an “arbitrary invasion” of the lives of its own private citizens. He also said that the Justice Department has done little to demonstrate that these information-collection efforts actually prevent future terrorist acts.

“Plaintiffs have a very significant expectation of privacy in an aggregated collection of their telephone metadata covering the last five years, and the NSA’s Bulk Telephony Metadata Program significantly intrudes on that expectation,” Leon wrote in the ruling. “I have significant doubts about the efficacy of the metadata collection program as a means of conducting time-sensitive investigations in cases involving imminent threats of terrorism.”

“I cannot imagine a more ‘indiscriminate’ and ‘arbitrary invasion’ than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of querying it and analyzing it without judicial approval,” Leon continued.

Leon issued his ruling in response to a lawsuit levied against the NSA and President Obama by conservative activist Larry Klayman. In the ruling, Leon issued a preliminary injunction ordering the NSA to desist its metadata collection efforts, though he stayed the order and allowed the NSA to submit an appeal.

As Politico notes, this is the first significant legal ruling against the NSA’s PRISM program, which was revealed in June and has been upheld by judges on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

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[mick silver]

your telling me there a judge thats doing his job