ACLU, DOJ face off over phone surveillance

The American Civil Liberties Union and the US government faced off in federal court over the constitutionality of the government’s surveillance programs. The surveillance program at the heart of the case is the government’s use of Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collect of data about all US phone calls.

The civil liberties group argued “that the mass call-tracking program violates Americans' constitutional rights of privacy, free speech, and association, and that it goes far beyond what Section 215 authorizes.” Stuart Delery, an attorney for the Department of Justice, defended the value and legality of the mass phone data collection, saying it is “authorized by statute, and it's constitutional.” ACLU Deputy Legal Director Jameel Jaffer challenged the authorization of the program. "If you accept the government's argument, you are accepting a dramatic expansion in the government's investigative power," he said.

(Nov 22)