NSA Domestic Phone Data-Mining Unconstitutional
On Monday January 20, 2014 U.S. District Judge Richard Leon has ruled that the National Security Administration’s data collection of “virtually every citizen” is “arbitrary invasion” of the Fourth Amendment Rights, or the rights to privacy, for all US citizens, reports CNN. Judge Leon rejected the NSA attorney’s argument that collection of telephone metadata was permissible, while also noting that the government did not produce any evidence that the surveillance program was effective in combating terrorism.
The decision is being praised by civil rights advocates. The government is appealing the decision.
The mass collection of data without a search warrant or probable cause was brought into the limelight last year by the revelations of Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee. Snowden fled the USA and has been granted asylum in Russia to escape prosecution.
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