As a result of a midnight session, the American Senate has voted down the USA Freedom Act- the basis of NSA’s mass surveillance programs. Without its renewal, the National Security Agency won’t be able to collect the bulk phone records of the people.
During the session, the Senate debated to reach a consensus to reform the act or extend its tenure beyond May 31. An administration official said that they didn’t file any application for reauthorization and the process to curb the law as begun.
This decision means that from June 1, for the first time since October 2001, NSA will longer collect the bulk phone records of the American people. This is being seen as the most important step taken by the Obama administration since the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked the documents regarding the same on 2013.
This leaked data included personal information of common people, the dialed number, duration of calls and the time. This information is then used to search for the terrorist connection of the people. The LATimes wrote that in the year 2014, about 300 searches were made.
.@RandPaul is being way too hard on the #NSA. Why diss the one part of government that actually listens? pic.twitter.com/8jn9oDF2hK
— Justice Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) May 22, 2015
This will result in the immediate scrapping of the mass surveillance program by NSA. The Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky opposed the program and said in a statement: “We should never give up our rights for a false sense of security.”
“For the first time, a majority of senators took a stand against simply rubber-stamping provisions of the Patriot Act that have been used to spy on Americans,” said Michael Macleod-Ball, acting director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.
Do you think this step to curb the mass phone recording program is beneficial for the people? Tell us in comments below.
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