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Wednesday 12 June 2013 - 10:24

US govt. sued over NSA phone surveillance

Story Code : 272913
US govt. sued over NSA phone surveillance
The program “gives the government a comprehensive record of our associations and public movements, revealing a wealth of detail about our familial, political, professional, religious and intimate associations,” the complaint, filed in New York on Tuesday, said.
 
The program started after the 9/11 attacks without court approval but last week it was revealed that the effort has since 2006 continued under the legal protection of a national security court order.
 
The court rules that the extensive surveillance is authorized by a section of the Patriot Act that allows the FBI to obtain phone conversations data provided that it is relevant to measures adopted against terrorism.
 
The Guardian revealed on Thursday the court order that allows the NSA to collect data on millions of Americans who are customers of Verizon Communications.
 
According to the order Verizon should, “on a daily basis,” give the NSA data, including phone numbers of both parties, location, the time and duration of all phone calls in its systems, both in the US and between the US and other countries.
 
Obama has defended the scheme as “legal and necessary to combat terror.”
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