NSA will stop gathering some messages from US residents
Shutterstock
The "NSA will no longer collect certain internet communications that merely mention a foreign intelligence target," an NSA press statement said. "Instead, NSA will limit such collection to internet communications that are sent directly to or from a foreign target."
The decision to end the program, which collected messages sent or received internationally and which had been criticized by privacy advocates, was first reported by the New York Times.
It ends a once-secret form of wiretapping that privacy advocates have argued violated the Fourth Amendment's ban on unreasonable searches - despite the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court having upheld it as lawful - because the government was intercepting communications based on what people say, rather than who sent or received them.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, a longtime critic of NSA surveillance, said that he would introduce legislation codifying the new limit. The FISA Amendments Act, which authorizes the program, is up for renewal at the end of 2017.
"This change ends a practice that allowed Americans' communications to be collected without a warrant merely for mentioning a foreign target," Wyden told the New York Times. "For years I've repeatedly raised concerns that this amounted to an end-run around the Fourth Amendment. This transparency should be commended."
- Some Tesla factory workers realized they were laid off when security scanned their badges and sent them back on shuttles, sources say
- I tutor the children of some of Dubai's richest people. One of them paid me $3,000 to do his homework.
- India not benefiting from democratic dividend; young have a Kohli mentality, says Raghuram Rajan
- Indo-Gangetic Plains, home to half the Indian population, to soon become hotspot of extreme climate events: study
- 7 Vegetables you shouldn’t peel before eating to get the most nutrients
- Gut check: 10 High-fiber foods to add to your diet to support digestive balance
- 10 Foods that can harm Your bone and joint health
- 6 Lesser-known places to visit near Mussoorie