Appeals Court Rules NSA Phone Program Not Authorized by Patriot Act

[kpete]

Appeals Court Rules NSA Phone Program Not Authorized by Patriot Act
ACLU lawsuit argued the data collection should be stopped because it violates Americans’ privacy rights
By DEVLIN BARRETT And DAMIAN PALETTA
Updated May 7, 2015 10:09 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON—A federal appeals court ruled Thursday the National Security Agency’s controversial collection of millions of Americans’ phone records isn’t authorized by the Patriot Act, as the Bush and Obama administrations have long maintained.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-rules-nsa-phone-program-not-authorized-by-patriot-act-1431005482

The court's ruling came in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union arguing the data collection should be stopped because it violates Americans' privacy rights. A lower court judge ruled the program was constitutional, and the civil liberties group appealed, leading to Thursday's decision.

"The text of (Section 215) cannot bear the weight the government asks us to assign to it, and...does not authorize the telephone metadata program," the court wrote.

The court declined to address the issue of whether the program violates Americans' rights, because, they found, it was never properly authorized by existing law.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/07/1383087/-Appeals-court-rules-NSA-bulk-collection-not-authorized-by-PATRIOT-nbsp-Act

[AuntPatsy]

1. Now what?