US court rules NSA’s bulk collection of phone data illegal

THE RULING CAME IN RESPONSE TO A CHALLENGE FILED BY THE RIGHTS ADVOCACY GROUP AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

WASHINGTON: A US appeals court on Thursday declared National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance program collecting phone records illegal, adding to pressure on congress to decide quickly the fate of the enabling law.

The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Congress had not authorised the NSA to collect Americans’ phone records in bulk.

The court held the NSA had stretched the limit of the USA Patriot Act, which alleged the FBI to information deemed relevant to counter-terrorism, to collect domestic calling records.

“Such expansive development of government repositories of formerly private records would be an unprecedented contraction of the privacy expectations of all Americans,” Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch wrote for a threejudge panel in a 97-page decision.

“We would expect such a momentous decision to be preceded by substantial debate, and expressed in unmistakable language. There is no evidence of such a debate.”

The ruling came in response to a challenge filed by the rights advocacy group American Civil Liberties Union.

This programme was first disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, whose other revelations included US spying of Indian missions and tracking electronic communications.

In ruling the bulk collection of phone records illegal, the court, however, did not order it to be stopped saying provision of the Patriot Act, passed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, under which the NSA was doing it, Section 215, is lasting on June 1. It’s for congress to determine if it considers NSA’s action legitimate and permissible.

The House judiciary committed approved last week a legislation, which, if passed, would end bulk collection of phone records. The bill is expected to pass.

A similar legislation in the senate, backed by liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans may not fare that well.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has steadfastly opposed any move to curtail that programme. A similar bill was killed last November on his orders.