NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls

[john83]

NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls

By Leslie Cauley, USA TODAY Thu May 11, 7:21 AM ET

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY.

The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans - most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews. [read on]


should i be surprised?

[trogdor]

wow... not that i'm surprised, but it's great to see yet another violation of law.  the electronic communications privacy act was passed, in part, to deal with this very issue of privacy.  pen registers require a court order for law enforcement agencies.  though the burden is simply relevance to a criminal investigation, nsa's scope of intrusion on privacy appears to have expanded dramatically. 

[_BP_]

Let the spin begin....