THE UNITED STATES Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on Thursday that the bulk collection of phone metadata by the NSA was illegal under federal law.
Rather than address the constitutionality of the program, the court took a much simpler tack. The decision concludes that the practice is beyond the scope of what the US Congress had in mind when it passed section 215 of the Patriot Act after September 11, 2001.
The case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and had been dismissed in 2013 by a lower court. Today's ruling vacates that decision, and could pave the way for a full legal challenge of NSA collection methods, which were first brought to light by Edward Snowden.
Also at: The Intercept, EFF, El Reg, BBC, NYT.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by MrGuy on Thursday May 07 2015, @07:09PM
"John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" (possibly apocryphal quote regarding a Supreme Court decision).
I don't think the NSA gives a damn what the federal court system thinks of what it should and should not be doing. Who, exactly, would actually enforce this decision?
(Score: 2) by cafebabe on Friday May 08 2015, @10:33PM
17 types of police [soylentnews.org] and no-one watches the watchers?
1702845791×2