NSA Ends Sept 11-Era Surveillance Program

The United States National Security Agency has stopped the bulk collection of the metadata from Americans' phone calls. The bulk collection program was undertaken by the NSA after the attacks of September 11th. The surveillance program was thrust into the spotlight in the summer of 2013, after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked classified information with details of the program. One of the key documents leaked by Snowden was an order by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court requiring Verizon to hand over all those records. His revelations sparked a heated congressional debate, which ultimately resulted in the USA Freedom Act. The law still gives the US government access to the information. Except, the massive database of call records now remains with service providers and the government can seek court orders to access specific records.

Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR), who led the charge to end the program, hailed its demise, saying, “This is a victory for everyone who believes in protecting both American security and Americans’ constitutional rights. Today the NSA is shutting down a mass surveillance program that needlessly violated the privacy of millions of Americans every day, without making our country any safer. This program’s very existence was concealed from the American public for over a decade. Across two administrations, senior officials from US intelligence agencies and the Justice Department repeatedly made false and misleading statements that concealed the truth about what they were doing....I am grateful to every American who stood up and made his or her voice count on this issue, and to all of my colleagues who listened to them."