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from the don't-care-what-you-want-we're-going-to-do-this dept.
A secret US tribunal ruled late Monday that the National Security Agency is free to continue its bulk telephone metadata surveillance program—the same spying that Congress voted to terminate weeks ago.
Congress disavowed the program NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden exposed when passing the USA Freedom Act, which President Barack Obama signed June 2. The act, however, allowed for the program to be extended for six months to allow "for an orderly transition" to a less-invasive telephone metadata spying program.
For that to happen, the Obama administration needed the blessing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court). The government just revealed the order.
In setting aside an appellate court's ruling that the program was illegal, the FISA Court ruled that "Congress deliberately carved out a 180-day period following the date of enactment in which such collection was specially authorized. For this reason, the Court approves the application (PDF) in this case."
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Thursday July 02 2015, @12:57AM
War time exigencies have long since passed
In times of true peace, our civil liberties are in less danger because people are more rational and vigilant. It's in times of war when we need to protect our civil liberties the most, as politicians will be able to more easily play on people's fear and manipulate them into giving the government powers it should not have and possibly cannot have. The "It's a time of war, so X is okay." excuse should not be accepted. Secret courts are bad even during times of war. There is no excuse for violating people's fundamental liberties, war or no war.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Thursday July 02 2015, @03:24AM
This is why the U.S. has been in a state of war (usually undeclared) almost continuously since the late 1800's.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek